“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. “
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 posi-
tion, 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.[3] 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.
Ford launched a line of menswear, beauty,
eyewear, and accessories in 2006. Dominico
De Sole became chairman of the Tom Ford
label.
TrafficMagazine/ Spring, 2014
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