So much for the R&R Tom Ford had planned for his retirement from the fashion industry.
Less than two years after Ford left Gucci in a highly publicized spat, the designer has introduced his first fragrance in his partnership with Estée Lauder — called Youth Dew Amber Nude — and produced the first line under his new Tom Ford banner — eyewear done in conjunction with Italian manufacturer Marcolin.
There are 23 frames and a half-dozen variations of each one.
“I didn’t rest and sleep, the things I thought I wanted to do. I laid in bed thinking, `I’m so bored!'” Ford said.
Ford is also guest editor for Vanity Fair’s annual Hollywood issue, which comes out in the spring, and a freestanding Tom Ford menswear store is planned for Manhattan next year.
“I have something to say about menswear. There’s nothing yet for me to say to women — and it may be never and it may be soon. I just don’t know,” Ford says.
Either way, Ford promises a different look than the overtly sexual style that was his trademark. “Tom Ford is always going to be raw, but more sensual and elegant than I was in ’95. The mood changes and I’m not in the mood for `sex’ right now. I’m older, too,” he says.
Eventually there will be Tom Ford boutiques in Milan, Tokyo, London and Los Angeles, says Ford, who was to focus on movies when he left Gucci.
“I am doing some movie stuff. There’s less to show publicly than I had hoped, but hopefully, there’ll be more soon. It’s not the last you’ve heard about me and films,” Ford says. “I have some clout (in Hollywood) but not what I had or still have in fashion.”
He is dipping his toe back into fashion with fragrance, cosmetics and sunglasses for two reasons, he says: “They’re the things I love. As a man, eyewear is one of the few expressive accessories you can have. I couldn’t commit to doing (women’s) ready-to-wear because it takes so much time. … Menswear leaves time to make movies.”
He also wants time to do more skiing, a hobby he’s grown passionate about. But don’t expect to spot him easily on the slopes. Instead of sleek sunglasses with the TF logo, he’ll be wearing a helmet and goggles.
Source: Associated Press