Tom Ford Q&A
Come Saturday, the fashion crowd descends on Milan to see Men’s Spring Summer 09 collections and one name will be on everyone’s lips: Tom Ford. It’s been four long years since Mr Ford vacated the creative director position at Gucci but he’s returning to Milan in timely style to open his first retail store in Europe. Fashion notables will be given a walk around the five floor, 9,000 sq ft space at Via Verri 3, on Monday 23rd, in the middle of fashion week. But we couldn’t wait till then so quizzed the man himself a few days before to find out how he feels about returning to the city where he made his name...
We love your label for its unapologetic formality. Where does your passion for formal dressing come from?
Formality feels right to me right now. At a time when fashion is getting increasingly more casual and broken down, I think that 'dressing up' shows that the wearer has self-respect and respect for the people around him. Maybe it is also a reaction against all the trends out there in menswear at the moment. Formal is just how I want to dress right now.
What inspires you?
I am inspired by everything around me.
What does it mean for you to be opening a store of your own label, under your own name, in Milan particularly, given the success you had here under Gucci?
It is great to be doing something that is purely 100% my own taste, my own vision, my own creation from the ground up. It is also wonderful to be returning to Milan which is one of my favorite cities in the world. It is not only Italy’s fashion capital, but it is also the Italian home of luxury menswear.
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
Do you see a progression in your work as a designer?
The progression of my work as a designer very much follows the progression of myself as a person. As I grow older, I see myself and the world differently. I have different role models and different values. Authenticity has become increasingly important to me in my life and in my work.
What bespoke services are available in your Milan store?
We will offer the same made-to-measure services in all of our Tom Ford flagship stores. It is not a bespoke service from the ground up. We work off four different bases, we take your measurements, work out which base is right for you, modify it, send it to our factory, and when it comes back we have a sample room in the store where we can do dramatic alterations. When you go to a bespoke tailor, you can have almost anything made. When you come to us, you come for a certain Tom Ford look and then it’s modified. This is a hybrid that did not exist. We offer much more customization than you can get from any other design company. At the same time, it has more of a personal stamp than Savile Row.
This is your second flagship – how many more have you planned, where and when?
We will be opening directly operated Tom Ford flagship stores in Milan, London, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas over the next 2 years as well as free standing stores in Baku, Moscow, Dubai, and Puerto Banus which will total over 100 free-standing Tom Ford retail stores worldwide over the next 10 years. We have also just opened a shop this spring in Zurich, with shops in Daslu, Bergdorf's, Harry Rosen, Lane Crawford Hong Kong and Neiman Marcus to follow in September.
Is retail design more significant now than it was 10 years ago?
Retail design has always been significant in helping to define a brand and has become more important than ever as the entire luxury industry has become more homogenised. More than ever, the brand experience is, in part, determined by the retail space.
You’ve turned your hand to fashion, accessories, beauty and fragrance. Have you any plans to branch into homeware?
For the moment, we are focusing on the existing categories and have no plans to branch into homeware.
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
More time.
Describe Tom Ford in three words.
Loyal, shy, perfectionist.
Jack Moss is the Fashion Features Editor at Wallpaper*, joining the team in 2022. Having previously been the digital features editor at AnOther and digital editor at 10 and 10 Men magazines, he has also contributed to titles including i-D, Dazed, 10 Magazine, Mr Porter’s The Journal and more, while also featuring in Dazed: 32 Years Confused: The Covers, published by Rizzoli. He is particularly interested in the moments when fashion intersects with other creative disciplines – notably art and design – as well as championing a new generation of international talent and reporting from international fashion weeks. Across his career, he has interviewed the fashion industry’s leading figures, including Rick Owens, Pieter Mulier, Jonathan Anderson, Grace Wales Bonner, Christian Lacroix, Kate Moss and Manolo Blahnik.
-
The Eurovision stage for 2024 has been unveiled
This year's stage design aims to bring the audience into the performance more than ever before.
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
Ikea meets Japan in this new pattern-filled collection
New Ikea Sötrönn collection by Japanese artist Hiroko Takahashi brings Japan and Scandinavia together in a pattern-filled, joyful range for the home
By Rosa Bertoli Published
-
Coming soon: a curated collection of all the new EVs and hybrids that matter
We've rounded up new and updated offerings from Audi, Porsche, Ineos, Mini and more to keep tabs on the shifting sands of the mainstream car market
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Exclusive interview: Dries Van Noten on launching his new beauty line
In an exclusive interview, the Belgian designer shares the story behind the creation of Dries Van Noten Beauty
By Mary Cleary Last updated
-
Michèle Lamy, agent of change, on the artists to lead us into the future
Co-founder of Owenscorp, artist, performer, agent of change: Michèle Lamy on her conduits to co-creation, and five creatives who can lead us into the future – whom she champions as part of Wallpaper’s 25th anniversary ‘5x5’ project
By Dal Chodha Last updated
-
Riya Gupta on empowered femininity
Studio Rigu – the New Delhi-based label – founded in 2017 by Riya Gupta, has forward thinking footing
By Dal Chodha Last updated
-
Alber Elbaz on AZ Factory: ‘fashion for a reason, not a revolution'
On 25 April 2021, it was announced that the ebullient and beloved fashion designer Alber Elbaz had passed away. Earlier in 2021, we spoke to him about his new brand AZ Factory
By Laura Hawkins Last updated
-
Paul Smith on a few of his favourite things
Fashion designer and inveterate collector Paul Smith shares a few of his favourite things in a new book, and here with his friend and travelling companion Deyan Sudjic
By Deyan Sudjic Published
-
Issey Miyake and Tadanori Yokoo’s pop-culture inspired collaboration
Tarzan, Jaws and Marilyn Monroe all feature on a series of men's blousons which ‘give a sense of hope and look to the future'
By Danielle Demetriou Last updated
-
Introducing Merlette, the eco-aware brand elevating easy dressing
Merlette’s fluid, billowing dresses in easy-to-care-for natural fabrics feel relevant and desirable – and are ideal for wearing year-round at home. No wonder the Brooklyn-based brand is having a moment
By Tilly Macalister-Smith Last updated
-
The elegant simplicity of Arts & Science's Aoyama flagship
Designed by Atelier Tsuyoshi Tane Architects (ATTA), Arts & Sciene's new Aoyama flagship in Tokyo, offers a play between curves and lines
By Danielle Demetriou Last updated