After graduating with a degree in interior design from Parsons, the new school’s new design school, Tom Ford became one of the world’s top designers, but he wasn’t designing homes at all. Instead, he is now a world-renowned American fashion designer, director, screenwriter and film producer who rose to prominence as a creative director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent.
Ford is best remembered for pulling all the stops to revamp the financially struggling Italian fashion house Gucci in the 1990s. By 1999, the deteriorating fashion house’s more than $4 billion worth which was on the verge of collapse when Ford joined the company. Sadly, he left home after chief executive Domenico de Sole failed to reach an agreement with Pinault Printemps Redoute boss over control of the group. De Sole is notably recognized as Ford’s partner in the success of Gucci. Ford then launched his eponymous luxury brand in 2006 and also directed the Oscar-nominated films A Single Man (2009) and Nocturnal Animals
For what it’s worth, Tom Ford has dressed multiple A-Listers and crème de la crème in Hollywood and beyond. From Michelle Obama to Beyoncé, Hugh Jackman, John Hamm, Henry Cavill, Jennifer Lopez, Johnny Depp, Ryan Gosling, Gwyneth Paltrow, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hanks, Will Smith, Julianne Moore and many more, we’ve seen dazzling celebrities his breathtaking designs. He also designed Daniel Craig’s costumes for his last three iconic James Bond film roles – Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, and Spectre
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Tom Ford Biography, Childhood
The legendary designer was born on August 27, 1961, in Austin, Texas, to real estate agents Shirley Burton and Thomas David Ford. For most of his childhood he lived in the suburbs of Houston, Texas and in San Marcos, near Austin, but his family later moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico when he was 11 years old. There he began to attend St. Michael’s School. High school then transferred and graduated from Santa Fe Preparatory School in 1979.
Ford was 16 when he enrolled at Bard College in Simon’s Rock, where he left and moved to New York to study art history at New York University (NYU). He also left New York University after a year and majored in interior architecture at The New School’s college of art and design, Parsons, the new design school. A graduate in architecture, Mr. Ford spent more than a year in Paris and worked as an intern in the press department of Chloé. This inspired his interest in fashion, so he spent his final year at New School studying fashion.
realization of life
After earning a degree in architecture, Ford found himself drawn to fashion instead. Thus, he hid his degree and channeled his inner fashion genius. He managed to convince American designer Cathy Hardwick to hire him, after which he worked with her as a design assistant for two years. He then joined the Perry Ellis clothing brand, which he also worked with for two years.
In a bid to explore his horizon, Ford decided to venture into the world of European fashion which he describes as “classier”. He was appointed chief designer of women’s ready-to-wear at struggling European brand Gucci and moved to Milan in 1990 to bring about a sea change for the company’s future.
After taking on the position of design director at Gucci, it took him a few months to expand the company’s menswear and other apparel sections. He was promoted to creative director in 1994 with credits for a revamped fashion style including hipsters, satin shirts and metallic boots in the brand. Notably, her fashion sense and style were mostly inspired by the disco era in her youth.
Fast forward to 1999, Gucci, the dying brand managed to amass a valuation of nearly $4.3 billion, all thanks to the creative genius of Ford. Gucci also bought the fashion house Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) and Ford was named its creative director. He continued to work his magic and kept the brands in the limelight.
By the time Ford left Gucci in 2004, the group was valued at $10 billion. Upon leaving the company, Ford launched a new line of beauty products, eyewear, accessories and menswear, which he dubbed “Tom Ford”.
The world-class designer has also dabbled in film and announced the opening of his film production company, Fade To Black, in 2005. He made his directorial debut with the film, A Single Man in 2009 which then won an award the same year.
He opened his first ‘Tom Ford’ store on April 12, 2007 in New York. Subsequently, similar stores were opened in London, Tokyo, Milan and Los Angeles.
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Ford is a true pioneer in the fashion world and his mother and grandmother have been credited as his first two role models in fashion. His prowess has not been without recognition. He has received several awards, including the International Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 1995; the VHI/Vogue Awards for Best International Designer in 2000; In 2001, he was voted by the Council of Fashion Designers of America as the best womenswear designer of the year; His film One Man w about the Queer Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 2009 and in 2013 he was on the Guardian’s list of 50 over 50s dressed.
Tom Ford’s husband
While studying in New York, frequent visits to Studio 54 opened his eyes to the fact that he was gay. Ford is married to Richard Buckley who he has been with since 1986 but tied the knot in 2014. Nonetheless, he said his first lover was artist Ian Falcone.
Her husband, Buckley, is a journalist and former editor of Vogue Hommes International. They live together in Los Angeles, London and Santa Fe with their son, Alexander John “Jack” Buckley Ford, who was born in September 2012.
Net worth of Tom Ford
The American fashion designer apparently made the right call when he decided to drop his degree in architecture to pursue his passion for fashion. Who knows, he probably wouldn’t have amassed an estimated net worth of $200 million if he had designed houses instead of clothes.