Peter Hawkings has left Tom Ford less than a year after unveiling his first collection for the House in September last year. The brand’s Spring/Summer 2025 collection will be presented in its Milan showroom this September, with a new successor to be announced soon.
In recent years, Tom Ford has been experiencing a change in direction, stemming from Ford’s decision to step away from the brand in April 2023 following a sale to Estée Lauder for $2.8 billion. Then Peter Hawkings stepped up to the role of Creative Director after years of working under Ford when he started as an apprentice at Gucci in 1998.
Ford is a CEO’s dream. He’s culturally and commercially successful and helped turn Gucci around from near bankruptcy when he took over in 1994, but that isn’t to say that he’s a safe-playing designer. Gucci G-strings and pube branding aside – at his own brand, his fragrance “fucking fantastic” was a name he was against censoring and was named following an instinctive interaction with the product.
This unapologetic approach extended into Ford’s ready-to-wear offering, which won over fashion editors, actors and A-listers with its dramatic elegance. Following Hawkings' departure, we've rounded up some of our favourite Tom Ford moments below.
The end of Tom Ford for Gucci
Following a hugely successful tenure at Gucci (after a stint at Yves Saint Laurent from 2000-2004, when Gucci acquired the brand), Ford put sexiness on the runway and helped save what was a floundering brand. To this day, Tom Ford-designed cut-out dresses and logoed hardware accessories are heavily sought after on the secondary market.
Tom Ford takes off
In 2004, Tom Ford left Gucci to start his namesake label. It started with accessories and beauty and developed into a fully-fledged label known for its men’s tailoring and red-carpet-ready womenswear.
Smelling like success
One of Tom Ford’s early wins was the release of its Black Orchid fragrance, which embodied the brand's sex appeal at a time when it was lacking in the beauty sector. Initially predicted to make $500,000 in revenue, the fragrance raked in $25 million, setting a precedent for smelling good in Tom Ford. When it came to marketing these campaigns, Ford doubled down on the phrase “sex sells” in some seriously steamy campaigns. The 2007 Tom Ford for Men campaign was so horny that it was banned, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t gone down in history.
Suits, suits, suits
Tom Ford knows a thing or two about suits and does them his way. Ford has a penchant for tuxedo styles, so it isn’t surprising to see that Ford makes a fair few tuxedo styles. They're big on structure and feature padded shoulders and a cinched waist in line with classic masculine tailoring techniques. Basically, they’re classic and look really, really good.
A Hollywood favourite
Famously, Brad Pitt has been a regular supporter of Ford, wearing the brand for numerous high-profile appearances throughout history and being the first celebrity to wear the label. But unlike many other fashion Houses, Ford has never paid anyone to wear the brand. Celebs that have worn Ford include Timothée Chalamet, Daniel Craig, and Lil Nas X.
A huge return to womenswear
In 2010, Beyoncé walked for Tom Ford as part of the brand’s return to womenswear. The singer wore a sequin knee-length gown and fishnet boots, exemplifying the brand’s massive celebrity appeal in a peak 2010s triumph. Ford paid homage to old-school Hollywood in his Fall/Winter 2020 show, which saw Kendall Jenner, Bella, and Gigi Hadid take to the Los Angeles catwalk wearing lace gowns. When it comes to womenswear moments, Rihanna, Zendaya, Emily Blunt and Julianne Moore have all worn Tom Ford, proving his muscle in both men’s and womenswear design.
A nostalgic farewell
The final collection designed by Tom Ford at his namesake label was its Fall/Winter 2023 offering, which was presented in a film format. In the digital video, the designer recreated some of his most iconic looks, getting an army of muses, including Amber Valletta, Joan Smalls, Karlie Kloss, Karen Elson, and Caroline Trentini, who posed in a huge glass container, before Ford walked away from them, marking the end of his tenure at the label.
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