Celebrity

A design for life

Designer Tom Ford on fashion, far-off destinations and failing to look comfortable on a yacht. By Frank Grice

When you have an eye for fashion that’s as skilled, exacting and enabling as Tom Ford’s, it opens up a whole world of opportunity and, if you want to pursue it, excess.

The 58-year-old Texan, a globally renowned fashion supremo who doubles as an accomplished filmmaker, has a hand so tightly gripped on the industry that people hang off his very word, off each new collection, off every plain black t-shirt.

And yet, what makes Tom Ford so effortlessly likeable isn’t his pursuit of largeness and grandiosity – it is in fact a desire to make the very simple things as perfect as possible.

“To complicate is to bring about a level of discomfort and chaos that I don’t think any of us want in our lives,” he begins. “In the way we all live, there is enough commotion and distress, and I think if I ever started

reflecting that in the things I wore or the language I used, it might just be the end of me!”

Humorous, modest, charming and funny, Tom Ford’s desire for calm possibly emanates from an upbringing in the wild expanses of New Mexico. He was the son of property agents Shirley and Thomas, and spent his youth gradually embedding himself in urban life whenever the opportunity arose.

The fact he quickly accelerated a love of clothes into a decision to uproot and head for the bright lights of New York – initially to study art history at New York University – shouldn’t detract from the reality that this is someone most at home with comfort and quality.

That premise stretches right through to time spent away from the glaring lights of the media world. His love of travel, and enjoyment of life spent on board yachts and in the relative sanctity of seclusion, presents a deceptive image of someone apparently extolling the virtues of a self-titled billion-dollar brand; though again, the truth is a somewhat different story. “I know yachts and the luxury market go hand in hand, and I can see the correlation,” he says. “But really, my time on board is actually about getting away from all that. It’s an interesting juxtaposition where you are, from the outside and in the eyes of the paparazzi, living this high life; yet when I get time away all I can think of is removing myself from all that buzz. It’s really not comfortable being in the lens.”

Ford, who married fashion journalist Richard Buckley in 2014, is one of the first names on the guest list when clients and even competitors are in party season. Restricting his time away so that he can parent son Alexander, who is eight this year, is a case of micromanaging each commitment – and you would expect nothing less from a perfectionist.

“Most days start at 5am – if I have actually managed to sleep – with a hot bath that helps me focus on the day ahead,” he says. “Most of my time these days is spent in design meetings, on ad campaign shoots and making important decisions about the business, and all of that before my son’s bath

time.” Perhaps more astonishing than Ford’s roll call of achievements is the fact that they are accompanied by a healthy dose of modesty. “Had I had any idea how challenging it would be to start my own brand from scratch, I might have never done it. I was fortunate to start it with all of the possible advantages one could hope for: I was already a known, successful designer and I had the funds to back it myself.”

Unusually for the industry, when Ford set up his label in April 2005, he started off creating high-end eyewear and beauty products, not clothes. It was a strategic risk that paid off, and Ford still gets a thrill from building his own business. “There is an incredible gratification I have in seeing my name on products that I designed and completely believe in.”

And travel is a big part of the inspiration that keeps Ford at the forefront of chic. “If I didn’t travel I wouldn’t be able to design anything,” he says. “Travel, exploring trends and the pursuit of new influences is everything to a designer.

“There is a perception that people in fashion are at the forefront of the new styles that permeate through. While there is a small amount of truth in that, it’s more that designers are just the sponges for the inspiration society gives us, both at home and abroad.”

Perhaps Ford’s introduction as Gucci head of womenswear in 1990 typifies that perfectly. Throwing a so-called ‘outsider’ into the mix was arguably the final roll of the dice for the Italian label, which had found itself in a deep rut producing primarily old-fashioned leather goods and close to bankruptcy.

Even when Ford was promoted to creative director in 1994, few had heard of him. But during his tenure he injected the ailing fashion house with

a thoroughly modern aesthetic that dripped with high-octane glamour. His velvet hipsters and liquid silk shirts provided the perfect antidote to the grunge look that had defined the early part of the 1990s, and he set the tone not just for Gucci but for womenswear during the rest of the decade.

He admits that his obsessive, details-driven approach has also been useful, if – by his own admission – occasionally frustrating to others. “My perfectionism has helped me build such a strong business, but my perfectionism is probably my most deplorable trait as well if you ask anyone who lives with me or works with me.”

This refusal to compromise extends to his appearance, and the designer’s signature stubble, aviators and slim-cut suit are as recognisable as Anna Wintour’s bob or the late Karl Lagerfeld’s ponytail.

And, of course, Ford has always been an unequalled advertisement for the clothes he makes for both men and women. Not since Chanel has a fashion designer so perfectly embodied the spirit of their creations. “It’s a pride thing – dressing well is good manners, but I’m far more connected to the Earth than my image exhibits.”

He may be insistent that his flawless image is an illusion, but this is precisely what his eponymous empire – founded in 2005 shortly after his departure from Gucci – is built on.

“I learnt so much of what I know during my time at Gucci,” he explains. “How to build a brand, how to acquire other brands and form a luxury conglomerate, how to manage a business while retaining design control...

“I also learnt how to relax on a yacht, rather than feeling totally uncomfortable whenever the photographers were out.” Could that be marked as a success to outdo all others? “Possibly it is,” he smiles.