Nothing Will Ever Compare to Tom Ford’s Gucci

Mar 9

Nothing Will Ever Compare to Tom Ford’s Gucci

By: Elena Ossoski

I cannot get him out of my head. I think about him all day and all night. Tom Ford lives in my mind rent-free. More specifically, his talents do. From 1900 until 2004, Ford sat at the helm of the house of Gucci and was arguably the most revolutionary mind in fashion at the time.

The 1990s and early aughts were defined by Ford’s admirable act of redefining sex appeal. Ford’s Gucci which gave us sleek tuxedos with a slim cut in fabrics luxurious to the touch and focused on attitude rather than assets resulted in opulence rhyming with seductive.

Ford created Gucci’s ad campaigns alongside Carine Roitfeld, former Editor-in-Chief of Vogue France and creative genius behind CR Fashion Book, who gave him the female perspective he needed. Regardless of media criticism for their risque energy, the campaigns successfully portrayed the edge that Ford was striving for through his fourteen years' worth of collections.

By accentuating the body in subtle as well as obvious ways, Ford bridged the gap between full-blown conservative and over-the-top revealing ways of dressing. Regal shades of teal and merlot were staple hues in Ford’s collections to contrast the simplicity that came from the regular use of black and chocolate brown.