Ford, Tom

▪ 2000

      Gucci's acquisition of Sanofi Beaute, owner of the French fashion house Yves Saint Laurent, for an estimated $1 billion in mid-November 1999—and then a week later of the Italian footwear company Sergio Rossi, for $96 million—catapulted American fashion designer Tom Ford, the creative director of the Italian luxury brand, into the public spotlight. Although the deal, which followed Gucci's agreement to issue $3 billion in shares to the luxury goods group Pinault-Printemps Redoute, was negotiated by Gucci's CEO Domenico De Sole, fashion industry observers were poised for the announcement that Ford would succeed Alber Elbaz as the designer of Saint Laurent's ready-to-wear line, Rive Gauche. Although no formal announcement had been made by year's end, many in the press seemed assured that Ford would ascend to the coveted Saint Laurent post. The New York Times opined that “(Ford's) designs already reflect Saint Laurent's influence and are likely to bring fresh currency to the label if Mr. Ford takes over the Rive Gauche ready-to-wear collection, which seems inevitable.”

      Ford was born in 1962 in Texas. After graduating (1986) from Parsons School of Design with a degree in interior architecture, Ford worked during the late 1980s as an in-house designer at New York fashion houses Perry Ellis and Cathy Hardwick. He was hired in 1990 by Dawn Mello, then Gucci's creative director, and began work as the company's in-house designer. Four years later, after Gucci was acquired by Investcorp, a Bahrain-based investment firm, he was appointed creative director. Ford then moved to Milan with his companion, journalist Richard Buckley, with whom he shared houses in Paris, Los Angeles, London, Texas, and Santa Fe, N.M. Although his career as a major designer has been short, as Gucci's creative director Ford delivered a successive series of mostly 1970s-inspired, critically acclaimed fashion collections for women and men, as well as handbags, shoes, accessories, and two new Gucci scents: Envy and Rush. He also aesthetically transformed Gucci's image from what American Vogue called a “logo-laden” look to one that transmitted a sophisticated sex appeal. In addition, Ford had good instincts when it came to publicity. In 1995 he hired the French stylist Carine Roitfeld and her frequent collaborator, photographer Mario Testino, to create a new, modern image for Gucci's advertising campaigns—the Gucci style, the clothes, the models, the hair, and makeup was used as a barometer to which the industry looked as a source of creative inspiration. Ford also courted such Hollywood actresses as Goldie Hawn, Rita Wilson, Gillian Anderson, and Gwyneth Paltrow, and his muse, Lisa Eisner, a prominent, wealthy, Los Angeles socialite. Despite his unorthodox approach to fashion, Gucci's profits reflected Ford's talent. The house, which was almost bankrupt when Ford joined it, was in 1999 a public company worth about $4.3 billion.

Bronwyn Cosgrave

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