TOM FORD

‘You can have it any colour you like…’

In the so-called Roaring Twenties, Mr Henry T Ford told the newly enabled car-buying population that ‘you can have it any colour you like, as long as it’s black’. His namesake, Mr Tom Ford, seems rather more versatile.

Tom Ford’s catwalk events really are as good you’ve heard. The showmanship, the atmosphere, the FROW, the champagne – and then there’s the clothing. From sparkling floor-length gowns emblazoned with pop art lightning flashes, through witty baseball jackets, to enviable scarlet velvet day dresses styled with fishnets and biker boots, the inspiration is all-encompassing.

The invention, and then reinvention, has been startling. Mr Ford’s world is anything but black, unless you refer to his multiple and perfectly tailored tuxedos. His heady days as Creative Director at Gucci, where ten years in the driving seat saw the company’s sales increase from 230 million dollars in 1994 to almost 3 billion dollars in 2003, making Gucci one of the largest and most profitable luxury brands in the world, were clearly far from idly spent. His next venture, after setting up an eponymous label, was as a film director for the Oscar-nominated ‘A Single Man’, which he’d also written and persuaded Colin Firth to star in. Bridget Jones eat your heart out, ideally in Mr Ford’s warm rich perfume, with cinnamon and orchid undertones. And pay attention, the show is only just beginning.