Tom Ford’s preternatural love of film has transformed the celebrated fashion designer into an honored filmmaker with an arresting vernacular that intrigues and inspires audiences of both worlds.
By Hassan Al Saleh
Tom Ford is a model of reinvention. With impeccable taste and meticulous, unmatched attention to detail, image-making has always been his forte. The genius re-imaging of Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent with bold, controversial and hedonistic campaigns will forever be a cornerstone in fashion history. Therefore, it came as no surprise when he stunned the film world with his 2009 directorial debut of A Single Man starring Colin Firth and Julian Moore. The film was a critical sensation, earning Oscar, Golden Globes and BAFTA nominations.
Seven years later, Ford made lightning strike twice with his spectacular second cinematic work, Nocturnal Animals starring Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal.
It won top prize at the Venice Film Festival and garnered Golden Globes, BAFTA and Oscar nods, affirming his remarkable storytelling acumen that is intelligent, powerfully moving and artistically thought-provoking.
Simply put, Tom Ford is a rarity in every sense of the word. He injects the same artistic vision and brilliant sartorial splendor of his fashion designs into the painfully beautiful and sumptuous films he writes, produces and directs. We sat down with the man himself to understand how and where the realms of fashion and film collide.
“For me film really is the ultimate design project. I think fashion does have permanence – you can go to a museum and see something created – but I don’t think that it necessarily affects you in the same way as a film.” – Tom Ford