Tom Ford has closed New York fashion week with a collection that doubled down on the singular belief that has underpinned his entire career: few things sell clothes quite like sex.
Nine months after cancelling his last show as a result of a Covid outbreak at his atelier, New York’s arch-provocateur turned a former trading floor just beyond the World Trade Center into a full-on disco assault. Hemlines were high, yet somehow the heels were even higher. Good news for fans of Ford glamorama; bad news for anyone hoping to wear the stuff.
It was a show split in three: looks for the daytime, looks for the party, and looks for the after-party. It began with Ford’s version of sportswear – if disco shorts in black and silver the width of belts, or low-slung tracksuits in lilac lamé, could be considered marathon-friendly. These were followed by a fresh take on the Ford twinset of pencil skirt and plunging-neck blouse, a souvenir of his beloved 70s-style which made him such a success at Gucci in the 90s.
Then came suits, flared and fun in candy-coloured metallics worn with very little else, and a brief interlude in which five models got to showcase his new line of knickers – or rather, scrims of lace. There were versions for him and versions for her.
The final section was more Oscars friendly, with the Hadid sisters closing the show in showstopper jewel-sequin gowns paired with sequined earrings the size of croissants. Menswear was minimal, although a Barbie-pink suit took first prize for red carpet wearability. The mood was high-glamour, Studio 54 repurposed for Gen Z, soundtracked by Robert Palmer and Dead or Alive. Hair was crimped, exaggerated, and sky high.
Few designers are driven by conspicuous luxury quite like Tom Ford – both at his own label, which he launched with just menswear in 2006, and during his radical makeover at Gucci, when he repurposed Halstonesque gowns, plunging necklines and the concept of cutouts on clothes for the 90s.
No longer “that guy from Texas” by the time he left Gucci in 2004, he has since become one of the most in-demand designers. In 2019, he became chair of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (he recently stepped down), a tenure that overlapped almost entirely with the pandemic. His label was valued at $3bn, according to Business of Fashion.
In what has been an otherwise diverse and sustainable fashion week in New York, Tom Ford’s show was noticeably lacking in body diversity. Plus-sized models Paloma Elsesser, Devyn Garcia and Precious Lee have been on virtually every other catwalk except this one.
Still, Ford’s ability to monetise extreme sex appeal means his fans know what to expect. He has become as famous as the people he dresses (Brad Pitt, Jay-Z and Keira Knightley are loyal to his brand) and his after-show bow, for which he wore one of his sharply tailored suits, prompted a frenzy of whoops.
If the collection was meant to shock, it worked. If it was meant to amuse, it did that, too. And the front row, which included the singer Madonna, actor Katie Holmes and a rare appearance by comedian Chris Rock, somehow managed to look both shocked and amused.
