This week marked the 63rd birthday of filmmaker and fashion designer extraordinaire Tom Ford, a man who I was obsessed with back in my days as a fashion journalist. I pined for those wildly expensive Tom Ford suits but settled for a pair of sunglasses that would be considered vintage today.
I also own a pair of YSL (er, now, Saint Laurent) Johnny Boots, which came about during Ford’s tenure at the legacy label. The ‘70s heeled boot dripped with sleazy, sophisticated glam.
In September 2010, Ford held his first womenswear fashion show during New York Fashion Week, which was going through its own rebirth. The fashion shows once held in Bryant Park were uprooted in Lincoln Center, but that didn’t matter to Ford.
When the fashion industry was a handful of years away from smartphone saturation, Ford decided to put on a super-duper exclusive, invite-only fashion show where only 100 people were invited and Terry Richardson was the sole photographer allowed in the space.
I was in New York for reporting on Fashion Week when this groundbreaking moment in fashion history happened. Of course, my homely ass wasn’t invited. No one I knew was. We all lived vicariously through New York Times fashion journo Cathy Horyn’s reporting (complete with pre-Instagram era smartphone pics).
The models included a coterie of Hollywood nobility, high society, noteworthy artists, and A-list supermodels including Rita Wilson, Rachel Feinstein, Marisa Berenson, Daphne Guinness, Lisa Eisner, Lou Doillon, Joan Smalls, Daria Werbowy, Liya Kebede, Amber Valletta, Stella Tennant, Farida Khelfa, Emmanuelle Seigner, Lauren Hutton, Julianne Moore, and Beyoncé. Even in 2010, everyone knew when Beyoncé was involved, that meant it was a big deal.
Going down a Tom Ford rabbit hole, I connected Beyoncé even further to the designer as Jay Z’s track “Tom Ford” from his 2013 album Magna Carta Holy Grail is named after him! The inclusion of Julianne Moore in the memorable fashion show was very much an extension of his directorial feature debut, A Single Man, one of the most sensual and breathy films ever created. It was sexy and essentially looked like a visual runway show for Gucci, for which Ford served as a creative director. It is under his tenure that helped reshape the flailing fashion house at the time — specifically with this redefining Fall/Winter 1995 ready-to-wear collection.
Based on the novel by Christopher Isherwood, A Single Man marked Ford as a formidable filmmaker with an inimitable seductive style. The film earned Ford noms at the Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards, and Indie Spirit Awards and Firth scored an Oscar nod.
Ford would next adapt Austin Wright’s novel “Tony and Susan” into Nocturnal Animals in 2016 starring Amy Adams. It was awards season catnip and a strong sophomore outing for Ford.
In a 2021 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Ford talks about his autobiography follow-up “Tom Ford 002” and how he wants to continue on the filmmaking path. In fact, he said he wouldn’t mind stepping in front of the camera.
”I do get offered things a few times a year, but I have no desire to play a version of myself,” Ford told THR. “I said that as a bit of a toss-off [in the book], but it might be an interesting exercise. I did want to be an actor when I was young, but I didn’t like putting myself out in the world like that. I’m much more secure now.”
I thought Ford was done with Hollywood because it’s been a while since Nocturnal Animals. Recently, the designer sold his namesake label to focus on filmmaking. In a 2023 interview with GQ, he said he has an original screenplay and also an adaptation of an Anne Rice novel floating about. Ford told GQ: “I’m 62. Hopefully, I’ll remain somewhat together until 82. So I want to spend the next 20 years of my life making films.”
Yes, please. Many of us are very horny for a sexy, breathy, couture-clad Tom Ford feature. We are long overdue.
This article was initially posted via the DIASPORA Newsletter on August 30, 2024. Click here to subscribe to DIASPORA for exclusive articles and content before it’s released on the site!
