Tom Ford

Tom Ford was founded as a fashion house in 2005 by Tom Ford, the American designer who had previously held the creative-director seat at Gucci (1994-2004) and Yves Saint Laurent (2000-2004) during the most-discussed period of either brand's modern history. The new namesake brand launched with menswear in 2007 and womenswear in 2010; its thesis was clear from the first collection — sex-positive 1970s American glamour, perfected. The vocabulary is built on tailored excess: Ford's slim-fit suits, the deep-cut velvet jackets, the bold logo monogram, the leather pieces, and the increasingly important Tom Ford Beauty cosmetics line (lipsticks, fragrances) that has become the commercial centre of the company. Ford has personally directed films (A Single Man, Nocturnal Animals) alongside running the brand. The brand's flagship at 845 Madison Avenue in New York and the Beverly Hills store have anchored the Tom Ford universe through the 2010s. Tom Ford International was acquired by Estée Lauder Companies in 2022 for $2.8B — one of luxury's largest acquisitions of that year. The fashion line (excluding cosmetics) was then transferred to the Zegna Group for $500M. Ford himself stepped back from creative direction in 2023; Peter Hawkings (a long-time Ford right-hand) took over as creative director under Zegna's stewardship. Few designers have so completely reinvented major heritage houses (Gucci, YSL) before building a third house carrying their own name.