Fashion's Elder Statesman Is Calling It Quits (Unless...)
Tom Ford is over, RIP to a real one. Tom Ford the dude is still around, of course, it's just that he's suddenly departing his eponymous brand.
A year after he stepped away from Saint Laurent and finalized his departure from Gucci, the brand that Ford almost singularly reshaped as the most vital name in fashion, Tom Ford (the man) was reborn and Tom Ford (the brand) was born. It was 2005. Now, in 2023, Tom Ford the brand will presumably continue on without the man.
Ford's announcement came without warning, statements, or anything else you expect of today's industry-shaking reveals. Instead, the Tom Ford brand simply uploaded some images and videos to its Instagram page, stating: "Tom Ford, in his final collection for his eponymous brand, has turned to his archives and reissued his favorite looks from the past 13 years."
"In 2010, Tom Ford launched his first womenswear collection. Today, more than a decade later, for his final collection, he pays homage to the TOM FORD woman with limited re-editions of his best-known iconic signature looks," the statement continues.
Indeed, the imagery showed ultra-glam looks typical of Ford's oeuvre, appropriately worn by muses like Amber Valetta, Joan Smalls, and Karlie Kloss. Similarly, Ford's final campaign was styled and shot by longtime Ford friends Carine Roitfeld and Steven Klein, respectively.
Sequins, slinky dresses, power blazers with pooling slacks, more than a little sex appeal: this was definitely a Tom Ford collection.
In fact, it's sort of the ultimate Tom Ford collection, what with all the classic Ford elements being repurposed one last time.
In the intervening 18 years since 2005, Tom Ford (the brand) remained basically unchanged. He's always sold slinky womenswear and slim-fitting menswear with few, if any, concessions to overarching trends.
Like, say, Giorgio Armani, Ford caters to a devoted core clientele. He doesn't court headlines with wacky statement pieces, he doesn't do "streetwear" — Ford just makes really expensive, really luxurious clothing. And it works: Tom Ford's brand was estimated to make upwards of $800 million in 2022
In one of 2022's biggest fashion headlines, Estée Lauder bought Tom Ford's eponymous brand for a whopping $2.8 billion, presumably with intent to focus on Ford's extremely profitable fragrance line (Zegna still holds the license for Ford's fashion line in the meantime).
The interesting thing is that Tom Ford isn't necessarily leaving fashion. In the barebones Tom Ford Instagram posts, it's merely stated that this archival collection is Ford's last for his eponymous brand, thus leaving the door open for Ford to take his talents elsewhere.
Or, maybe, he could just retire. After all, Tom Ford has done basically everything there is to do in fashion: he's been the industry's avant garde, he's started and sold his own incredibly successful line, he's headed up the CFDA, he's even directed a critically-acclaimed movie — now's as good a time as any to decamp to an island paradise and relax.
But, given that he's one of fashion's great workhorses, pretty unlikely that we've heard the last of either Tom Ford, the man, or Tom Ford, the brand.
