Traffic Magazine For Men Spring 2014 | Page 10

iROCK TOM FORD Ford dropped out of NYU after only a year, preferring to concentrate on acting in television commercials; at one time, he was in 12 national advertising campaigns simultaneously. T om Ford was born August 27, 1961, in Austin, Texas, to realtors Tom Ford and Shirley Burton. He spent his early life in the suburbs of Houston, Texas, and in San Marcos, outside Austin; his family moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, when he was 11. In Santa Fe, he entered St. Michael’s High School and later moved to Santa Fe Preparatory School, from which he graduated in 1979. Ford left Santa Fe at age 16, when he enrolled at Bard College at Simon’s Rock, but quickly dropped out.[citation needed] He then moved to New York City to study art history at New York University. Ford dropped out of NYU after only a year, preferring to concentrate on acting in television commercials; at one time, he was in 12 national advertising campaigns simultaneously. Ford then began studying interior architecture at The New School’s famous art and design college, Parsons The New School for Design. During his time in New York, Ford became a fixture at the legendary nightclub Studio 54, where he realized he was gay. The club’s disco-era glamor would be a major influence on his later designs. Before his last year at New School, Ford spent a year and a half in Paris, where he worked as an intern in Chloé’s press office. Though his work primarily involved sending clothes out on photo shoots, it triggered his love of fashion. He spent his final year at The New School studying fashion, but 10 TrafficMagazine/ Spring, 2014 nonetheless graduated with a degree in architecture. When interviewing for jobs after graduation, he said that he had attended The New School’s Parsons division, but concealed that he graduated in architecture,[3] and that his work at Chloe was a low-level public relations position. Despite his lack of experience, Ford called American designer Cathy Hardwick every day for a month in hopes of securing a job at her mid-price sportswear company. Eventually, she agreed to see him. Hardwick later recalled the incident: “I had every intention of giving him no hope. I asked him who his favorite European designers were. He said, ‘Armani and Chanel.’ Months later I asked him why he said that, and he said, ‘Because you were wearing something Armani’. Is it any wonder he got the job?” Ford worked as a design assistant for Hardwick for two years. In 1988, Ford moved to Perry Ellis, where he knew both Robert McDonald, the company’s president, and Marc Jacobs, its designer, socially. He stayed at the company for two years, but grew tired of working in American fashion. In a later interview with the New York Times, he commented, “If I was ever going to become a good designer, I had to leave America. My own culture was inhibiting me. Too much style in America is tacky. It’s looked down upon to be too stylish. 1995 International Award - Council of Fashion Designers of America 1999 Style Icon Award - Elle Style Awards UK 2005 Andre Leon Talley Lifetime Achievement Award 2009 GQ Germany Man of The Year 2010 Menswear Designer of the Year Council of Fashion Designers of America. Europeans, however, appreciate style.” Ford would soon have the opportunity to enter the world of European fashion; Gucci, a faltering luxury goods company, was seeking to strengthen its women’s ready-to-wear presence as a part of its brand overhaul. At the time, “no one would dream of wearing Gucci,” said Dawn Mello, then the company’s creative director. Mello hired Ford—then a nearunknown—as the brand’s chief women’s ready-to-wear designer in 1990. “I was talking to a lot of people, and most didn’t