“When I come home, I actually take off all my clothes, and I wear no clothes until I leave. I eat naked. I do everything completely naked.�
Introduction to Tom Ford: 3-4 Brand Moodboard: 5-6 Brand Analysis: 7-28 Brand Posistioning: 39-32 Perceptual Map - 33-34 Competitors and Consumers - 35-40 Communication Touch-points - 41-42 New Concept - 45-56 Bibliography and References - 57-58
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om Ford as a brand evidently exudes sexual tension, covered up by strong fragrances, heavy make-up and structures suits and silk gowns, in the most glamorous colours. Ford creates a new world for his consumers, a world where anyone can be the ultimate playboy.
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r Ford himself originally moved to New York City to study art history at New York University. Ford dropped out after only a year, to concentrate on acting within television before eventually making the decision to study interior architecture, at The New School’s famous art and design college (Parsons The New School for Design). Through living within New York Tom became a fixture within the cities legendary nightclub Studio 54, allowing the club’s infamous disco-era to be a major influence on his later work within his career through the heavy makeup and the strong prominence of sex, through the raw sweaty atmosphere mixed with the glamour of; at the time, New York’s major socialites.
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Brand Analysis
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ord’s main love for fashion is though to have been triggered through his year and a half he spent in Paris working as an intern in Chloé’s press office primarily sending clothes out on shoots, he then went onto finishing his final year at The New School studying fashion but regardless, still graduated with a degree in architecture. Later on when applying for jobs after graduating, ford failed to mention that he graduated with a degree within architecture and just let the infamous The New School’s Parsons division speak for itself and let employers assume that he studied within fashion, and that his internship didn’t involve him being a something of an errand boy but that he had a low-level public relations position.
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Brand Analysis
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ord went onto working for Cathy Hardwick as a design assistant for two years and then moved to Perry Ellis through knowing the company’s president socially and the designer Marc Jacobs until he grew bored of American Fashion after two years. Ford then went onto becoming the chief women’s ready-to-wear designer in 1990 and then two years later, the design director of Gucci but his talents where overshadowed by the company’s public face of the time. In 1994, Tom Ford was promoted to the creative director, and when Gucci acquired the house of Yves Saint Laurent ford became the creative director of label also, removing Saint Laurent himself of the company’s ready-to-wear line.
“If I was ever going to become a good designer, I had to leave America. My own culture was inhibiting me. Too much style in America is tacky. It’s looked down upon to be too stylish. Europeans, however, appreciate style.”
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Brand Analysis
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ithin 2004 Ford decided to leave Gucci and launched his cosmetics line through teaming with EstĂŠe Lauder followed by a high-end optical frames and sunglasses. In 2006 Ford announces his return to deign through partnering with Italian fashion group Ermenegildo Zenga, to produce a line of luxury menswear, accessories, and footwear under the Tom ford label.
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Brand Analysis
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ithin 2007, Tom Ford flagship store opens. Modeled on his own townhouse in London, the ultimate bachelor-esque pad opens in Manhattan, with bespoke suits starting at $5000. An immediate global expansion is on the horizon with the opening of four more flagship stores announced in Milan, London, Los Angeles, and Hawaii within the next three years.
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Brand Analysis
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ord Launches his return to womenswear with a presentation in his Manhattan flagship store attended by the elite in the fashion industry, featuring not only catwalk models but also celebrities such as Julianne Moore, Beyoncé Knowles, Lauren Hutton, and Daphne Guinness. Through this he truly shows his work off to its full potential through having figures that truly represents glamour within popular culture.
“The height of glamour. . . . Chic and womanly, and with that big-time sense of fashion that one sees less and less of today on the runways.”
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Brand Analysis
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om Ford presents the spring 2012 collection- by- invitation only- in a showroom during London fashion week and debuts a full line of cosmetics and skin care.
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Brand Analysis
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he white Ford column actress Gwyneth Paltrow wears to the Oscars earns her a place on numerous best-dressed lists, showing off the true style of Tom Ford through being structures and sleek. Singer Rihanna wears a body-hugging Ford to the Met Costume Institute gala, and shows the true sex appeal that a Tom Ford gown can bring. Anne Hathaway dons a black dress and S & M–inspired boots of his design to the New York premiere of her film Les MisÊrables and shows the counter parts that tom ford creates, through a perfectly designed dress with the almost kinkiness of his shoe design.
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Brand Analysis
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ord creates the ultimate lifestyle of a bachelor, through his in store layouts of a truly masculine, glamorous home and structured men’s suits that aren’t just simple but the accessories and shoes that accompany them truly show a well dressed gentlemen, whereas his women’s-wear collections scream sexual tension through thigh high splits, subtle amounts of fur and s&m inspired boots created in solid black and gold’s that show the lifestyle of a bachelor and the type of women he escorts home.
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Brand Analysis
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he products that Ford makes from fragrances, cosmetics, to clothing, show the glamour within the brand, not only through solid, high gloss, angular packaging and perfume bottles but also through soft silk gowns and heavy bold make-up, items that truly show the wealth of the consumer who buys them, and just truly screams Ford. All of which are created with a shimmering colour palette mixed with the iconic gold and black that is Tom Ford and is transcended through everything that he creates.
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Brand Analysis
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ords provocative campaigns ooze sexual chemistry through either their lack of clothing or their passionate stare into one another’s eyes, dripping in sweat and some of the time, featuring himself. All of this shows the side of Ford that he wants his consumers to experience. That with the glamorous lifestyle that he provides, that there are some benefits that come along with it also.
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Brand Analysis
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om Ford uses invisible marketing to attract his intended consumer, this is done through his lack of an online presence and through letting his print advertising being the main focus of keeping his consumer updated. Ford has targeted their intended consumer through only having advertisements within publications such as Vogue and Vanity Fair, making it so that they are targeting people who have a keen interest in high-end fashion and purposefully seek out Tom Ford. The garments that Tom Ford creates are easily recognizable through the brands style; from a male perspective, is almost geek-chic. This is seen through predominantly being formal such as a turtle neck and a blazer to formal dinner suits, created in a vibrant colour, always styled with a pair of iconic tom Ford thick framed glasses priced at ÂŁ150-ÂŁ300 a pair. When it comes to online shopping the only available things to buy online are beauty products and eyewear, for anything else the only option is to search for a local retailer, keep the exclusivity factor intended only for people who seek out Tom Ford itself. Within the UK the only places where it is possible to acquire tom Ford clothing is either in Manchester and London is only possible within Selfridges, Harrods and Tom ford itself, showing more so how they purposefully target consumers who have the income to shop in high-end department stores.
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Brand Posistioning
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he brand overall is purely about sex appeal and glamour, through their choices in colour black and gold which is always repeated each season through his ready-to-wear collections. To date Tom Ford international is a billion dollar company with Tom Ford framed making $350 million at retail last year, with Tom Ford beauty expected to make $275 million at retail by the end of June 2014. The position of the brand such as price within the market lies within the luxury fashion sector with products ranging from ÂŁ36.00 for a lipstick to ÂŁ5000 for a tailored suit setting themselves high up within the market as far as price is considered making it so that they have fewer competitors.
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Brand Posistioning
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om Ford is set within the high-end of fashion, through high priced items. But with competitors such as Dolce and Gabbana, Gucci and Alexander McQueen, through their unique and noticeable creations but what Ford does, is that he sets himself apart from them all through the sex appeal within his brand. Ford also sets himself apart from others through not only having women within poplar culture featuring in his return to womenswear show but also through having models such as Lauren Hutton, who is aged 67. Showing that Tom Ford as a brand isn’t ageist and encourages women of all ages to wear his designs.
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Competitors and Consumers
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onsumers of Tom Ford are customers who go out knowing what they want, whether they want a suit or a gown or a pair of shoes, young people who have the money to buy whatever they want, but know that with Tom Ford that they expect quality. Ford customers expect exclusivity; this is as a result of Tom Ford releasing things such as fragrance only within Tom ford Stores before mass release. They are strong-minded, independent consumers who know that with Tom Ford comes a personality that exudes confidence and the will to go out and seek out company in cocktail bars or at high society events such as benefits. People who feel that they are of importance and should be noticed which is why they choose to spend large amounts of money, because they expect the glamour of Ford so that they are able to turn heads when they walk into a room.
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Competitors and Consumers
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he way in which Tom Ford as a brand, communicates with its consumer, is predominately interviews, either one on one with Tom Ford himself speaking in an intimate interview or through red carpet appearances and the short brief interviews that are shown to give you a snippet into the brand itself. All of which are YouTube accessible, which also features the latest seasons show. Ford also took part in a series called “Vissionaires� on the O channel (Oprah Winfrey Network) showing an insight into the behind the scene of how ford creates his collections and the workmanship that goes into everything. Other than that there is very little intimate interaction with consumers.
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Communication Touch-points
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he brand also has a presence on Facebook, but that isn’t really as intimate as interviews as it is mainly used as a “hub” to advertise the latest product. The main purpose of the Facebook site is that, it isn’t their to provide a service that shows the consumer what they want, but rather what the brand wants the consumer to think that they want through just simply having the glamorous and seductive label of Tom Ford. Overall the brands main method of communicating with its customers is through print advertising, showing the lifestyle that is achievable through owning a piece of Tom Ford.
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Communication Touch-points
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om Ford makes it adamant as to what he wants his brand to be perceived for his male consumers, a sexy glamorous sexually sophisticated brand. Within the past the brand has taken opportunities to expand, though they have been sparse, through partnering with Estée Lauder to create his perfume range and then more recently partnering up with singer Justin Timberlake for his video “Suit & Tie” as well as his worldwide tour “20/20 experience’ which features tom ford designs. The style that the brand tom ford has is that a typical Tom Ford man is a well dress, well-suited consumer, with the accessories and the money in his pocket to match. Ford creates numerous accessories for men, from collar pins to cufflinks, but one thing tat he doesn’t make at all that his competitors do, is that the brand does not seem to have a range of watches for men or women. Which is something that any well-dressed man would automatically have on his wrist. With ford’s competitors such as Gucci and Dolce and Gabbana having their own range of watches excluding (fashion high-street items) it shows how Ford has a lack in his market and is missing out on the opportunity to expand.
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New Concept
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aymond Weil Genève are one of the last original Swiss watch makers and through the fact that the company itself is a very personal one through still being family owned (and being managed by the founders son-in-law), and through Ford itself being a very personal company as well through Tom Ford being the President and Chief Executive of Tom Ford International it made sense that the two would team up as well as through the fact that Raymond Weil was founded in 1976 at the height of Tom Fords 70’s inspired style.
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New Concept
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aymond Weils collection of Maestro watches are the perfect item to go with Tom Fords classic collar pins and cufflinks, with their simplistic faces and leather straps they are the perfect accompanying style to any Ford ensemble on a daily basis or as a dress watch. With prices of the Maestro collection ranging from £2,150 to £895 it places the company in the high-end market of accessories, which matches the same as Ford through a simple silver collar pin costing around £355 and 18KT cufflinks costing £2300. The limited edition of Raymond Weil for Ford maestro collection would cost around £2500 which would mean that for the full accessories range would cost around £7000, which is the perfect
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New Concept
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he collection will differ from his competitors through the fact that the watches themselves will be made and designed by Raymond Weil with tom Ford matching his own cufflinks and collar pins to the range so that the brand of Raymond Weil isn’t tarnished through teaming up so that Tom Ford can show off how well his own items go with such a classically, timeless brand.
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New Concept
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he collection will only be sold in Tom Ford stores worldwide so that the exclusivity of the collaboration is kept intact, and will be featured with the entire collection together. No campaign will be made so that this is enhanced and so that it does not become over hyped through the fact hat the price of the collection is so high so that it can only be obtained by a true Ford consumer but will be featured within the seasons look book online and through print as well which will only be sent to consumers who are directly on the Tom Ford stores mailing list. The collection will be called Raymond Weil for Tom Ford, so that it is a simplistic and classic name to match the brands visuals and will not only Promote Raymond Weils craftsmanship and show that the ford customer should appreciate this but also enhance the detail and classic elements of Tom Ford accessories.
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New Concept
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Brand Analysis - Book- Marketing Fashion- Harriet Posner - Book- Tom Ford Spring/Summer 2014 accessories - http://www.vogue.co.uk/spy/15th-anniversary/tom-ford/to-laugh - http://www.vogue.com/magazine/article/tom-ford-returns/#1 - http://www.wwd.com/runway/spring-ready-to-wear-2014/review/tom-ford - http://www.businessoffashion.com/2013/09/the-business-of-being-tom-ford-part-i. html - http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324591204579036873623589 950 - http://www.vogue.com/voguepedia/Tom_Ford - http://articles.latimes.com/2006/feb/28/entertainment/et-quick28.2 - http://www.youtube.com/user/TOMFORDINTERNATIONAL - https://www.facebook.com/tomford - https://twitter.com/tomford_nl - http://vimeo.com/34182744 New Concept - http://www.business-standard.com/article/management/q-a-olivier-bernheim-president-ceo-raymond-weil-110110100094_1.html - http://en.worldtempus.com/watch-brand/raymond-weil - http://siaranpers.blogspot.co.uk/2003/09/raymond-weil-some-milestones-in. html - http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2013/01/28/justin-timberlake-tom-ford-collaboration---fashion-outfits-new-album-the-20-20-experience Images - Fig 01- http://blog.myfdb.com/2011/03/tom-fords-five-commandments-formen/ - Fig 02- http://www.welikeyoulove.com/style-crush-tom-ford/ - Fig 03- http://www.fabsugar.co.uk/Tom-Ford?page=3 - Fig 04- Moodboard (created on photoshop, all images found on pinterest. com) - Fig 05- http://www.glamourboysinc.com/2013/07/tom-ford-beauty-fallwinter-201314.html - Fig 06- http://www.glamourboysinc.com/2013/04/tom-ford-made-this-dress. html - Fig 07- http://www.pinterest.com/pin/113575221824887895/ - Fig 08- http://www.designscene.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Lara-StoneTom-Ford-Violet-Blonde-Fragrance-DESIGNSCENE-net-01.jpg -
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Fig 09- http://marthamulholland.com/visualmerchandising
- Fig 09- http://marthamulholland.com/visualmerchandising - Fig 10- http://necolebitchie.com/2011/01/02/video-beyonce-rips-the-runwayfor-tom-ford/ - Fig 11- http://www.musingsofamuse.com/2013/12/tom-ford-beautys-limitededition-12-piece-lipstick-set.html - Fig 12- http://www.elle.com/accessories/shop-accessories/shoes/tom-fordstrappy-buckled-sandal-boots - Fig 13- http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/nicholas-hoult/images/11028367/title/ nicholas-hoult-tom-ford-photo - Fig 14- http://www.revistagq.com/galerias/moda-para-la-feria-de-abril/6191/ image/476506 - Fig 15- http://models.com/work/tom-ford-tom-ford-for-men-fw-08 - Fig 16- http://absinthrill.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/freja-beha-ericksen-nicholas-hoult-by.html - Fig 17- http://www.whatwetalkingabout.com/2012/05/best-of-tom-ford-ss12lookbook.html - Fig 18- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/01/beyonce-tom-ford-lauren-hutton_n_790460.html - Fig 19- http://hurricanevanessa.com/beautiful-people-do-yucky-things-fortom-ford-ss2012/ - Fig 20- http://www.pinterest.com/pin/71213237830313242/ - Fig 21- http://www.londonbeautyqueen.com/2010/09/tom-ford-is-hot.html - Fig 22- Found on pinterest - Fig 23- http://www.sinuousmag.com/2013/03/2020-experience-digital-booklet/ - Fig 24- http://www.millionlooks.com/accessories/abbey-lee-kershaw-turnsblonde-to-promote-tom-ford’s-eyewear/ - Fig 25- http://watchmobile7.com/articles/raymond-weil-maestro-collection-new-chronograph - Fig 26/27 – own creation on photoshop References “The height of glamour. . . . Chic and womanly, and with that big-time sense of fashion that one sees less and less of today on the runways.” – 2010 - The New York Times, Cathy Horyn If I was ever going to become a good designer, I had to leave America. My own culture was inhibiting me. Too much style in America is tacky. It’s looked down upon to be too stylish. Europeans, however, appreciate style.- The New York Times
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Thomas Ryan