A PRESTIGE HONG KONG EXCLUSIVE
THE MAN IN FULL - TOM FORD
by Jessica Michault and Stephen Short

Tall, dark and handsome, Tom Ford broke many a heart when he walked away from Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent four years ago. But the celebrity designer is back on the prowl with a series of fragrances, an eyewear line – and a head-to-toe menswear collection that’s spreading faster than hot gossip. Jessica Michault and Prestige Hong Kong Deputy Editor Stephen Short engage the man in an exclusive interview.

IT’S A CRISP day in London, with an icy breeze whipping through Hyde Park as we make our way to Kings Road for an intimate chat with the sexiest man in fashion, Tom Ford.

Yes, he’s back, after retiring in April 2004, when he left his position as creative director at Gucci Group (designing the men’s and women’s collections for both Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent) to pursue other avenues – most of them lined with stars in Hollywood. When he took his farewell bow, in a fire-engine-red velvet coat, more than one woman gnashed her teeth in frustration and wondered, “Where do I go for sexy clothes now?” Others whispered confidently, “He’ll be back.”

After all, this is the award-winning American designer who single-handedly breathed life back into Gucci, transforming the brand into a fashion powerhouse. Its luxe quotient was so diluted that it had become something of an industry joke.

Well, the whispers were right. Exactly one year later, Ford announced to the world that he was now officially a brand. With TOM FORD, he surprised many by forgoing a clothing line and instead negotiating astute business partnerships in the satellite luxury arenas of fragrance and eyewear that orbit the fashion world. He simultaneously announced that he had teamed up with the Marcolin Group, to create an eyewear collection now considered must-have accessories, and with the renowned Estée Lauder company.

With Estée Lauder the joint venture was twofold: the Tom Ford for Estée Lauder collection, launched in November 2005, was followed by the stand-alone Tom Ford Beauty line, which debuted in the autumn of 2006. The latter includes a group of fragrances comprising Tom Ford Black Orchid; Private Blend, a 12-piece unisex fragrance collection; Black Orchid-Voile de Fleur; a men’s scent called Tom Ford for Men; and recently a second, more exclusive men’s fragrance called Extreme.

Hope ran high among fashionistas that Ford’s next move would be a line of womenswear. But the outside-the-box thinker again surprised the industry by deciding instead to take care of his fellow man – announcing the creation of Tom Ford Menswear in February 2006 in partnership with Ermenegildo Zegna.

Available exclusively at his New York flagship store for the first six months after its 2007 opening but soon to be available worldwide – and this month in Hong Kong at Lane Crawford – the collection is designed to be all-inclusive, to dress a man in stylish clothing from head to toe, from the inside (socks, boxers, undershirts) out (belts, shoes, hats, cufflinks). Over the next 10 years, the company plans to open more than 100 Tom Ford free-standing retail stores in places such as Hong Kong, Beijing, Kuwait, Dubai, Qatar, Moscow, Zurich and St Moritz.

The Tom Ford design studio is housed in a stately red brick and stone building picturesquely flanked by a quiet park on one side and a stone courtyard on the other. The studio entrance is tucked away at the back. Up a flight of steps covered in a purple-tinged grey carpet is the reception area. Here mannequins dressed in the menswear line flank the entrance and a large Guy Bourdinesque print of the ad campaign for Ford’s eponymous men’s fragrance has pride of place on the wall. In keeping with his sexy aesthetic, the bottle is balanced between the bare breasts of a moist-skinned, red-lipped model.

Ford is running late. He’s on the phone with business partner Domenico De Sole, who’s available only briefly between long-haul flights. De Sole memorably left Gucci with Ford when they parted ways with French parent group PPR, and has again teamed up with the designer for his latest endeavour as chairman of the company.