How Tom Ford Transformed Gucci and Defined 90s Fashion
Tom Ford: The Beginning
Tom Ford is celebrated for reinventing modern high fashion luxury, blending sex with elegance and sharp tailoring. Ford's time at Gucci was transformative, turning the struggling Maison into a global powerhouse and is widely credited with reinventing 1990s fashion, proving that strong creative direction can drive commercial success.
Tom Ford was born in Austin, Texas in 1961 to realtor parents who helped foster his creative genius. From a young age, Ford spent his time rearranging furniture in his home and helping his mother dress, choosing her outfits and assisting her with hairstyle choices.
Ford eventually moved to New York City to study art history at New York University. While there, he met author Ian Falconer who took the young Ford to Studio 54. Studio 54’s high glam and disco aesthetics would influence Ford’s later work and designs. Ford left NYU for Parsons School of Design and spent a year in Paris interning for Chloé. His time at Chloé inspired his love for fashion, which led him to study fashion during his final year at Parsons.
Tom Ford at Gucci
Ford graduated from Parsons with a degree in architecture but wanted to pursue a career in fashion. While interviewing for roles, he kept his architecture degree a secret and emphasized his role at Chloé. Ford landed roles with Cathy Hardwick and Perry Ellis before eventually moving to Gucci in 1990 in the role of women’s ready-to-wear director. Gucci’s creative director at the time, Dawn Mello, hired Ford at a time when Gucci was struggling and in need of a total overhaul.
Within six months, Ford moved to designing menswear and shoes. In 1992, he took over as design director, overseeing everything from photoshoots to advertising. During Ford’s early years with Gucci, he often fought with chairman Maurizio Gucci; Gucci wanted everything to be round and brown while Ford wanted to update the imagery and make it sleek, black, and square.
Spring 1996 RTW Runway Show
Getty Images, Photographer/Owner
In 1994, Ford was promoted to Creative Director and within a year Gucci sales increased by 90%. By 1999, Gucci was valued at $4 Billion, a figure unheard of by the once faltering brand. Ford’s time at Gucci is remembered for highly controversial imagery, calling on the “heroin-chic” look of the time, as he was not afraid to push boundaries. Ford’s collections reflected Hollywood glamour, European sophistication, and raw sexuality, fundamentally changing the way high fashion was perceived in the ‘90s.
Some of Ford’s handbag creations during his tenure at Gucci featured the iconic Bamboo motif in the form of handles and chains, an updated reinterpretation of the Jackie and its iconic piston lock closure, and exotic skins and fur.
Gucci acquired YSL in 1999 and Ford was named Creative Director for the brand as well. During his tenure at YSL, Ford introduced the Mombasa bag which took the fashion world by storm. The tote was inspired by the continent of Africa and featured a horn handle. Ford left Gucci in 2004 due to a power struggle within the brand’s leadership. After Ford’s departure, Gucci had to hire four people to match the amount of work Ford had done.
Post-Gucci Career
Tom Ford started his own eponymous label in 2006 and would begin overseeing costume designs for films and music videos. Most famously, he dressed First Lady Michelle Obama, designed Daniel Craig’s suits for his role as James Bond, and dressed Justin Timberlake for his world tour. Ford also maintains a very successful career as a film director. His two features, A Single Man and Nocturnal Animals, received critical acclaim and won numerous awards.
Tom Ford’s long and storied time at Gucci helped make fashion aspirational and cinematic again. He inspired a generation of designers like Hedi Slimane, Riccardo Tisci, and Anthony Vaccarello, and set the blueprint for fashion as brand storytelling.
Iconic Runway Collections
Fall 1995 RTW Runway Show
Getty Images, Photographer/Owner
Fall 1995 RTW Runway Show
Getty Images, Photographer/Owner
Fall/Winter 1995
While Fall 1995 wasn’t Tom Ford’s first runway show at Gucci, it was the season he truly arrived. Jewel-tone shirts, velvet hip-huggers, and Horsebit leather loafers paraded down the runway in Milan; Ford’s seventies-inspired designs signaled a sexy and glam new direction for the wavering brand. The collection saw early endorsement from Madonna who would wear pieces from it at the MTV Video Music Awards, catapult Tom Ford to fame and send Gucci’s fortune skyrocketing.
Spring 1996 RTW Runway Show
Getty Images, Photographer/Owner
Spring 1996 RTW Runway Show
Getty Images, Photographer/Owner
Spring/Summer 1996
Tom Ford’s sheer revolution featured now iconic lace dresses, originally styled with bold green underwear on the runway and became a defining moment of ‘90s fashion. It epitomized the sleek and sophisticated look that would become his signature at Gucci. The collection was a commercial and critical success and cemented Tom Ford’s status as the new king of cool.
Fall/Winter 2000
One of Tom Ford’s most seductive and fashion-forward shows, it captured the height of his influence at Gucci, blending high-gloss eroticism with luxe sophistication. The show exuded dark sensuality, fetish glamour, power dressing and the bondage-chic of Helmut Newton’s photography. The overall mood was overtly sexual and featured leather and.
Fall/Winter 2003
The Gucci Fall/Winter 2003 collection marked Tom Ford’s final womenswear collection for the house — a dramatic and emotionally charged farewell to a decade-long reign that transformed the brand into a fashion empire. Dark, theatrical and often described as "Gothic glamour," the collection was a culmination of Ford's signature aesthetic and featured strong 1940s and 1970s influences with a futuristic edge. Seen as a "final love letter" to the provocative glamour he crafted at Gucci, the collection still influences designers today and is often referenced for its dark sensuality and precise tailoring.
