Since the return of its label ten year ago from now, Tom Ford playfully snubs the fashion industry with an elegance that characterises him. Nominated President of the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) in March 2019, he gives up the New York Fashion Week to be in Los Angeles this year, few hours before the Oscar ceremony, thus displaying a five-star front row, where Jennifer Lopez, Miley Cyrus, some members of the Kardashian-Jenner clan, but also Jeff Bezos, Renée Zellweger, Taylor Hill, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and others top models all meet.
As the tight metallic sheen plastrons, proudly sporting by Zendaya, had bursted upon the audience last season, the unmissable Bella Hadid in her see-through dress entirely embroidered with crystals, walking in her top model-like gait, will cause a tremendous stir. Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner, both wearing scandalous dresses made of black lace that are obviously not lined, will eventually follow.
In his notebook, the Texan designer quotes Karl Lagerfeld: “Fashion is like music, in the sense that notes are always the same, but as for music, agency is what changes”. Indeed, it is one more time a glamorous, insolent and bling-bling aesthetic that is staged on the catwalk. It contrasts at times with some street-style hints – like the Prince de Gales or tapestry prints, the leather or denim patchworks, embroidered or pleated midi skirts, associated with sleeveless sweatshirts, loose or low-waist pairs of pants leaving one’s belly button apparent, or occasionally worn with fluid hoods. Flashy colours, rare and shiny fabrics, and of course, leopard prints, are reminiscent of the 70s.
“Along the years, I’ve learned that one cannot imitate an aesthetic solely to follow the current trend, but that conversely, one has to preserve that aesthetic from time. Authenticity and a clear message on what one is representing are the most important things today.” Thus, for men as for women, figures sometimes appear as dramatic ones, but always in a red-carpet-style, reminding us that Tom Ford has been the undeniable master of a blazing and statuesque fashion aesthetic for 26 years.
