Tom Ford is back
in the fashion business, attempting to alter--if not
correct--a phenomenon he helped create.
He wants both the
industry and consumers to end the hunt for the next big
thing in favor of a long-term commitment to personal style.
He wants people to appreciate the details in the
things they buy and can keep for years to come.
''It's a reaction
to our world, where everything is so impersonal and
things are less and less about quality, less and less about
nuance--less and less about people. Maybe I'm in
the early stages of longing for the generation
before,'' says Ford.
Ford this week
opens a very Saville Row-inspired menswear store on
Madison Avenue, a departure from the super-sexy,
high-concept runway shows that were his trademark as
design chief at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent.
He's selling
suits and tuxedos, cap-toe shoes and velvet slippers, tennis
shorts and, in the fall, shooting clothes, along with
walking sticks and cuff links.
The shop is
quiet, elegant, and homey--or at least homey for a
cool character like Ford. With abstract art by Lucio
Fontana and a crocodile-inspired chair--both
from his own home--along with beaver rugs and a
slate-gray palette, Ford attempts to recreate the mood of a
1930s men's club. There are butlers to cater to
clients' whims, from pouring a drink at the bar to
fetching lunch from a nearby restaurant.
All this luxury
doesn't come cheap, of course. But Ford says at least
you'll know that your $1,000 shoes and $3,200-plus suits
(that's for the ready-to-wear; made-to-measure starts
at $5,000) were made with loving hands and the finest
quality.
The personal
touches include hand-woven socks with the wearer's initials,
shirt boxes with customers' names written in calligraphy,
and a lot of choices--there are 340 shirt colors
in 35 fabrics that can be matched with one of seven
collars and one of three cuffs.
The only unisex
items can be found in the perfumery, which right now has
12 scents ranging from black violet to Tuscan leather, and
the store will also mix custom blends.
Three years ago
Ford, who is the designer equivalent of a rock star, very
publicly fled the fashion scene in favor of Hollywood. He
had several scripts in the works and he says on Monday
that at least one film project was ready to go, though
he refused to give any details.
But, he
explained, he genuinely missed fashion.
''I hated not
creating something. I really missed what I was doing,'' he
says.
Why menswear?
Ford, wearing a black three-piece suit that's a slightly
looser fit than we saw in his sleek Gucci days, says he had
trouble finding things for his own wardrobe. He even
called himself his muse.
Ford, 45, talks
vaguely about future stores in London, Milan, and Dubai,
but he wouldn't reveal any plans during his preview Monday
other than the company was on a path of ''accelerated
development.''
Fashion experts
say they suspect his New York store will succeed.
''When you get to
clothes at that price point, you want something that's
unique to you and so special,'' says Stephen Watson, fashion
director at Men's Vogue. ''You want something
that no one else will have.''
He thinks Ford
made a wise choice in making the store full-service plus
some. ''Everybody wants to look good, but I think
simplifying and demystifying the process attracts
customers,'' he says.
It also doesn't
hurt that Ford doesn't intend to drastically change
styles from season to season, if at all. These are
investment pieces.
Things don't move
very quickly in the men's market, says Brian Boye,
fashion director at Men's Health. Unlike women,
who have celebrities, designers, and reality-show advisers
telling them what's hip and cool every few months,
Boye says men get only a subtle message from pop
culture.
''Between Tom
Ford and male celebrities who are influencers, there is a
trickle-down effect. The industry gets excited and buys into
our aesthetic and we get used to seeing it, and over
time it's what becomes the norm.''
He uses Ford's
Gucci suits from the early 2000s as the example: They were
sharper, more body-conscious, and with a peak lapel that had
been out of favor for years. Six years later, it's the
silhouette that Banana Republic and H&M are
selling.
''Guys don't move
on trends like women do,'' Boye says. However, he
added, he thinks Ford will move the meter a little bit.
''He's elusive,
handsome, provocative, controversial. Anyone or anything
who can generate that buzz and excitement is good for
fashion,'' Boye says. (AP)