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Tom Ford Essay

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TOM FORD Born in Texas in 1962, Tom Ford went on to become arguably the most influential designer of the last decade. Having initially trained as an actor, he studied interior architecture at Parsons School of Design until 1986, and went on to take positions at Perry Ellis and Cathy Hardwick, before joining Gucci in 1990. Ford was hired by Gucci's then creative director Dawn Mello as chief women's ready-to-wear designer, and later appointed design director. When, in 1994, Gucci was acquired by a Bahrain-based investment firm called Investcorp, Ford was promoted to creative director and moved to Milan with his partner, journalist Richard Buckley. In his first year at the helm, he was credited with putting the glamour back into …show more content…

"There are many more talented designers than me," he once told an audience at the V&A in London. "But I have a lot of drive and won't let it go." He also credits his "mainstream" appeal. "I'm lucky, I have mass-market tastes," he says. "When I say I like a shoe, generally thousands of people will like it. Thank God, because I would have been a very unhappy person if I hadn't had this kind of success." But others see it quite differently, saying that Ford's secret is the combination of a fine commercial sensibility and a genuine feel for fashion: in his present role at Gucci, he designs shoes, watches, luggage and men's and womenswear as well as planning the company's advertising campaigns and overseeing the development of their two new fragrances, Envy and Rush. His visionary look of the fashion industry has been the center of attention as he has won many awards like the Council of Fashion Designers of America award for International Designer of the Year in 1996. That same year, he also won the International Designer of the Year - Fashion Editors Club Japan 1996; Menswear and Womenswear Designer of the Year. He also owns four VH-1 Fashion and Music Awards and a Fashion's Future Best New Designer prize that he was awarded in 1995. His list of awards also includes a Womenswear Designer of the Year in 1999, an Elle Style Icon Award in 1999; and a Commitment to Life Award from AIDS Project Los Angeles for

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