Tom Ford: Difference between revisions
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==Career as a film director== |
==Career as a film director== |
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In March 2005, Ford announced the opening of his film production company, FADE TO BLACK. In 2009, Ford made his film directorial debut with A Single Man, which was based on the novel of the same name by Christopher Isherwood. The film stars Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Nicholas Hoult and Matthew Goode. The screenplay was adapted by Ford and David Scearce. Ford also produced the film, which premiered on September 11, 2009 at the 66th Venice International Film Festival and was nominated for a Golden Lion. Colin Firth, who plays the protagonist George, was awarded the Volpi Cup as Best Actor for his performance and was also nominated for an Academy Award, Golden Globe, Independent Spirit Award and Screen Actor's Guild award. He won the BAFTA for Best-Actor in a Leading role. Julianne Moore was nominated for Best Supporting actress and Abel Korzeniowski for Best Original Score at the Golden Globes. Tom Ford was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards in 2009 including Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay. |
In March 2005, Ford announced the opening of his film production company, FADE TO BLACK. In 2009, Ford made his film directorial debut with A Single Man, which was based on the novel of the same name by Christopher Isherwood. The film stars [[Colin Firth]], [[Julianne Moore]], [[Nicholas Hoult]] and [[Matthew Goode]]. The screenplay was adapted by Ford and [[David Scearce]]. Ford also produced the film, which premiered on September 11, 2009 at the 66th Venice International Film Festival and was nominated for a Golden Lion. [[Colin Firth]], who plays the protagonist George, was awarded the Volpi Cup as Best Actor for his performance and was also nominated for an Academy Award, Golden Globe, Independent Spirit Award and Screen Actor's Guild award. He won the BAFTA for Best-Actor in a Leading role. Julianne Moore was nominated for Best Supporting actress and [[Abel Korzeniowski]] for Best Original Score at the Golden Globes. Tom Ford was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards in 2009 including Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay. |
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==Personal Life== |
==Personal Life== |
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Revision as of 02:38, 13 April 2010
Tom Ford | |
|---|---|
 Tom Ford, September 2009 | |
| Born | August 27, 1961 (age 62)[1] |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Parsons The New School for Design |
| Label(s) | Cathy Hardwick, Perry Ellis, Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Tom Ford |
Thomas Carlyle "Tom" Ford (born August 27, 1961)[2] is an American fashion designer and film director. He gained international fame for his turnaround of the Gucci fashion house and the creation of the Tom Ford label.
Early life (1961–1986)
Tom Ford was born August 27, 1961 in Austin, Texas, to realtors Tom Ford and Shirley Burton.[3][4] He spent his early life in the suburbs of Houston, Texas, and in San Marcos, outside Austin; his family moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, when he was 11.[5] In Santa Fe, he entered St. Michael's High School and later moved to Santa Fe Preparatory School, from which he graduated in 1979.[6] Ford left Santa Fe at age 17, when he moved to New York City to study art history at New York University.[7][8]
Ford dropped out of N.Y.U. after only a year, preferring to concentrate on acting in television commercials; at one time, he was in twelve national advertising campaigns simultaneously.[4][7][9] Ford then began studying interior architecture at The New School's famous art and design college, Parsons The New School for Design.[10] During his time in New York, Ford became a fixture at the legendary nightclub Studio 54, where he realized he was gay.[11][12] The club's disco-era glamor would be a major influence on his later designs.[13][14] Before his last year at New School, Ford spent a year and a half in Paris, where he worked as an intern in Chloé's press office.[15][16] Though his work primarily involved sending clothes out on photo shoots, it triggered his love of fashion.[16][17] He spent his final year at The New School studying fashion, but nonetheless graduated with a degree in architecture.[16][17]
Early career (1986–1994)
When interviewing for jobs after graduation, he said that he had attended The New School's Parsons division, but concealed that he graduated in architecture and that his work at Chloe was a low-level public relations position. Despite his lack of experience, Ford called American designer Cathy Hardwick every day for a month in hopes of securing a job at her mid price sportswear company. Eventually, she agreed to see him. Hardwick later recalled the incident: "I had every intention of giving him no hope. I asked him who his favorite European designers were. He said, 'Armani and Chanel.' Months later I asked him why he said that, and he said, 'Because you were wearing something Armani'. Is it any wonder he got the job?" Ford worked as a design assistant for Hardwick for two years.
In 1988, Ford moved to Perry Ellis, where he knew both Robert McDonald, the company's president, and Marc Jacobs, its designer, socially. He stayed at the company for two years, but grew tired of working in American fashion. In a later interview with the New York Times, he commented, "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." Ford would soon have the opportunity to enter the world of European fashion: Gucci, a faltering luxury goods company, was seeking to strengthen its women's ready-to-wear presence as a part of its brand overhaul. At the time, "no one would dream of wearing Gucci," said Dawn Mello, then the company's creative director. Mello hired Ford—then a near-unknown—as the brand's chief women's ready-to-wear designer in 1990. "I was talking to a lot of people, and most didn't want the job," Mello said. "For an American designer to move to Italy to join a company that was far from being a brand would have been pretty risky." Ford and his longtime partner, fashion journalist Richard Buckley, relocated to Milan that September.
Ford's role at Gucci rapidly expanded: he was designing menswear within six months, and shoes soon after that. When Richard Lambertson left as design director in 1992, Ford took over his position, heading the brand's ready-to-wear, fragrances, image, advertising, and store design. In 1993, when he was in charge of designing eleven product lines, Ford worked eighteen-hour days. During these years, there were creative tensions between Ford and Maurizio Gucci, the company's chairman and 50% owner. According to Mello, "Maurizio always wanted everything to be round and brown, and Tom wanted to make it square and black." Though Maurizio Gucci wanted to fire Ford, Domenico de Sole insisted that he remain. Nonetheless, Ford's work during the early 1990s was primarily behind the scenes; his contributions to Gucci were overshadowed by those of Mello, who was the company's public face.
Gucci and YSL creative director (1994–2004)
In 1994, Ford was promoted to creative director. In his first year at the helm, he was credited with putting the glamour back into fashion introducing Halston-style velvet hipsters, skinny satin shirts and car-finish metallic patent boots. In 1995, he brought in French stylist Carine Roitfeld and photographer [Mario Testino] to create a series of new, modern ad campaigns for the company. Between 1995 and 1996, sales at Gucci increased by 90%. On the strength of Ford’s collections, [Gucci] went public in October 1995 with an IPO of $22 per share, followed by an additional global offering in March 1996 at $48 per share and a third offering in 1999 at $75 per share. In early 1999, luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, headed by Bernard Arnault, increased its shareholdings in Gucci with a view to takeover. Domenico De Sole reacted by issuing new shares of stock in an effort to dilute the value of Arnault’s holdings. Ford and De Sole also approached French holding company Pinault-Printemps-Redoute (PPR) about the possibility of forming a strategic alliance. Francois Pinault, the company’s founder, agreed to the idea and purchased 37 million shares in the company, or a 40% stake. Arnault’s share was diluted to 20%. At one point, Ford was the largest individual shareholder of [Gucci] stock and options.
By 1999, the house, which had been almost bankrupt when Ford joined, was valued at about $4.3 billion. When Ford left in 2004, Gucci Group was valued at $10 billion.
When [Gucci] acquired the house of [Yves Saint-Laurent], Ford was named the creative director of that label as well. During his time as Creative Director for YSL, Ford won numerous Council of Fashion Designers of America Awards. Like his work at [Gucci], Ford was able to catapult the classic fashion house back into the mainstream. His advertising campaigns for the YSL fragrances Opium (with a red-haired Sophie Dahl completely naked wearing only a necklace and stiletto heels in a sexually suggestive pose) and YSL M7 (with martial arts champion Samuel de Cubber in complete full-frontal nudity) have been famous and provocative by pushing fragrance ads to a new level of creativity in artistic expression and commercial impact.
In April 2004, Ford parted ways with the Gucci group after he and CEO [Domenico de Sole], who is credited as Ford's partner in the success story that is Gucci, failed to agree with PPR bosses over creative control of the Group.
Tom Ford (2004–present)
In April 2005, Ford announced the creation of the TOM FORD brand. Ford was joined in this venture by former Gucci Group President and Chief Executive Officer Domenico De Sole who serves as Chairman of the company. In that same year, Ford announced his partnership with Marcolin Group to produce and distribute optical frames and sunglasses as well as an alliance with Esteé Lauder to create the TOM FORD Beauty brand. There are currently 16 private blend and 5 signature fragrances in the TOM FORD beauty collection. Since their launches, both the eyewear and beauty collections have been hugely successful and rank in the top 3 brands at specialty stores.
In April 2007, his first directly owned flagship store opened in New York at 845 Madison Avenue and coincided with the much anticipated debut of the TOM FORD menswear and accessory collection. Presently, there are 21 freestanding stores and shop-in-shops in locations such as Milan, Tokyo, Las Vegas, Dubai, Zurich and Russia.
Since the launch of his menswear collection, Tom Ford has dressed many of Hollywood’s leading men including: Brad Pitt, Jon Hamm, Colin Firth, Tom Hanks, Matthew Goode, Nicholas Hoult, Bradley Cooper, Pierce Brosnan, Alexander Skarsgard, and Johnny Depp. In 2008, Tom Ford outfitted Daniel Craig as James Bond in Quantum of Solace.
In the summer of 2009, Ford also designed costumes for the world premiere of "The Letter" which was an opera performed six times only at the Santa Fe Opera.
Career as a film director
In March 2005, Ford announced the opening of his film production company, FADE TO BLACK. In 2009, Ford made his film directorial debut with A Single Man, which was based on the novel of the same name by Christopher Isherwood. The film stars Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Nicholas Hoult and Matthew Goode. The screenplay was adapted by Ford and David Scearce. Ford also produced the film, which premiered on September 11, 2009 at the 66th Venice International Film Festival and was nominated for a Golden Lion. Colin Firth, who plays the protagonist George, was awarded the Volpi Cup as Best Actor for his performance and was also nominated for an Academy Award, Golden Globe, Independent Spirit Award and Screen Actor's Guild award. He won the BAFTA for Best-Actor in a Leading role. Julianne Moore was nominated for Best Supporting actress and Abel Korzeniowski for Best Original Score at the Golden Globes. Tom Ford was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards in 2009 including Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay.
Personal Life
Ford and his partner, journalist Richard Buckley, have been together for over 23 years. Buckley was the former Editor in Chief of Vogue Hommes International. They currently live in London, Santa Fe and Los Angeles. The couple has discussed having children.[18]
Noted for his interest in modern architecture, Ford has commissioned houses from the Los Angeles firm of Marmol Radziner + Associates[19] the Spanish architect Alberto Campo Baeza, and the Japanese architect Tadao Ando.
Awards and Nominations
Ford has been recognized by important design and cultural councils worldwide including the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum and TIME.
- 1995: International Award - Council of Fashion Designers of America
- 1997: People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People
- 1999: Style Icon Award - Elle Style Awards UK
- 2000: Best International Designer - VH1/Vogue Awards
- 2000: Fashion Editors Club of Japan Award
- 2000: British GQ International Man of the Year Award
- 2000: Superstar Award - Fashion Group International
- 2001: Womenswear Designer of the Year - Council of Fashion Designers of America
- 2001: Best Fashion Designer - TIME Magazine
- 2001: Designer of the Year - GQ USA
- 2001: Board of Directors Special Tribute - Council of Fashion Designers of America
- 2002: Accessory Designer of the Year Award for Yves Saint-Laurent - Council of Fashion Designers of America
- 2003: Fashion Design Achievement Award - Cooper Hewitt Design Museum's National Design Awards
- 2004: Rodeo Drive Walk of Style Award
- 2004: International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame
- 2005: Andre Leon Talley Lifetime Achievement Award - Savannah College of Art & Design
- 2006: Accessory Brand Launch - Accessories Council Excellence (ACE) Awards [20]
- 2007: GLAAD Media Awards - Victor Russo Award
- 2008: Menswear Designer of the Year - Council of Fashion Designers of America
- 2009: Venice Film Festival - Golden Lion for "A Single Man" (Nominee)
- 2009: Venice Film Festival - Queer Lion for "A Single Man"
- 2009: Critics Choice Awards - Best Adapted Screenplay (Nominee)
- 2009: Independent Spirit Awards - Best First Screenplay (Nominee)
- 2009: Independent Spirit Awards - Best First Feature (Nominee)
- 2009: Honored as one of GQ USA's Men of the Year
- 2009: GQ Germany Man of the Year
- 2010: GLAAD Media Awards - Outstanding Film Wide Release (Nominee)
- 2010: Menswear Designer of the Year - Council of Fashion Designers of America (Nominee)
Further reading
- Tom Ford with Graydon Carter and Anna Wintour. Tom Ford. Thames & Hudson (2004). ISBN 0500511977.
References
- ^ http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/americasbest/pro.tford.html
- ^ http://www.familytreelegends.com/records/txbirths?c=search&first=&last=Ford&spelling=Exact&11_year=1961&11_month=8&11_day=27&4=&14=&SubmitSearch.x=0&SubmitSearch.y=0&SubmitSearch=Submit
- ^ Sharpe, Tom. "Ford: Santa Fe Is Home". Santa Fe New Mexican (November 10, 2005).
- ^ a b Dingus, Anne. "Tom Ford". Texas Monthly (September 1998).
- ^ Bonnin, Julie. "Tom Ford Gucci: One-time Central Texan becomes Gucci god". Austin American-Statesman (August 18, 1997).
- ^ Mayfield, Dan. "Designer's New Direction". Albuquerque Journal (October 24, 2004).
- ^ a b "Style icon has ties to Santa Fe". Albuquerque Journal (January 11, 2002).
- ^ Porter, Charlie. "Paris Style". The Guardian (March 16, 2001).
- ^ Shaeffer, Brittany. "Ford Is Bigger, Louder Than Ever". New York Daily News (April 13, 2005).
- ^ Dazman, Manan. "In Ford-ward drive". New Straits Times (December 11, 2003).
- ^ "Tom Ford: the hard-driven Texan behind the rebirth of Gucci". Agence France-Presse (April 12, 2005).
- ^ Frankel, Susannah. "A Bigger Splash". The Independent (January 16, 1999).
- ^ Groskop, Viv. "Style King". Sunday Express (February 29, 2004).
- ^ Porter, Charlie. "End of designer era could see Ford and De Sole set up own label". The Guardian (November 5, 2003).
- ^ Sharkey, Alix. "How the man in black conquered the world". The Independent (January 20, 2000).
- ^ a b c "Gucci uses its loafer". South China Morning Post (December 4, 1994).
- ^ a b Luther, Marylou. "Cynicism key to fashion today, Ford says". Plain Dealer (March 14, 1996).
- ^ http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/OnCall/story?id=4439567&page=1
- ^ http://www.marmol-radziner.com
- ^ The Accessories Council Excellence (ACE) Awards - Accessories Council
External links
- Official Tom Ford homepage
- Tom Ford fanpage
- Please use a more specific IMDb template. See the documentation for available templates.