end of an era

Tom Ford just quit Tom Ford & released his final fashion collection… on Instagram?

By · Updated on January 26, 2024
Tom Ford in a tuxedo on the red carpet

After starting his eponymous luxury label in 2005, Tom Ford has quietly announced the end of his Tom Ford era.

Without much fanfare, the renowned fashion designer has revealed his latest womenswear collection is his last with his namesake brand. Better pop molly, because you ain’t gonna rock Tom Ford for much longer.

While you would think his runway swan song would come with some sort of pomp and circumstance, the fashion bombshell news was released into the world by simply uploading photos and images of the Autumn/Winter 2023 collection to Instagram. Social media really is the new catwalk.

“Tom Ford, in his final collection for his eponymous brand, has turned to his archives and reissued his favorite looks from the past 13 years,” the brand’s official Instagram captioned the images.

Get a front row seat to his final collection here:

Instead of continuing to push fashion forward, Ford chose to end his run by looking back and re-creating some of his most iconic designs.

The collection was shot by photographer Steven Klein and features some of Ford’s favorite supermodels muses like Amber Valletta, Karlie Kloss, Joan Smalls and Karen Elson rocking the glamorous designs.

Though news of Ford’s departure was a jolt to the industry, it wasn’t completely unexpected following his sale of the label to Estée Lauder for a whopping $2.8 billion last year. For that much coin, who wouldn’t peace out?

Ford started his namesake label in 2005, after a very successful 10-year run as the creative director of Gucci and 5 years as the creative director of YSL.

Related:

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We can’t tell if he loved the film or hated it.

Initially the Tom Ford brand focused on menswear, beauty, eyewear and accessories, as the designer took a six-year pause from creating womenswear.

He returned to his bread and butter with the highly-anticipated launch of his Spring 2011 women’s collection. But instead of a massive runway show filled with hordes of fashion writers, bloggers, photographers, and assorted wannabes, Ford held a more intimate presentation with only the biggest fashion editors invited and one lone photographer, Terry Richardson, on hand to film it.

For the brand’s inaugural collection, Ford was also extra particular of who got to model the garments and chose some well-known names to walk the runway, including: Julianne Moore, Rita Wilson, Marisa Berenson, Lauren Hutton, and a little known singer you may have heard of … BÉYONCE! Yes, Queen Bey!

Watch Bey do the Naomi Campbell walk at the Tom Ford Spring 2011 show:

Now that’s he walking away from his iconic line, it’s unclear what Ford will do next. While many are saying he’s heading for retirement, the ridiculously handsome 61-year-old has not indicated that his fashion days are fully behind him.

Ford could also return to his other love of making movies. If you recall, he wrote, produced, and directed two films: A Single Man in 2009 and Nocturnal Animals in 2016.

He’s also busy being a dad to his 10-year-old son, Jack. Ford and his late husband Richard Buckley welcomed Jack via a gestational surrogate in 2012. Buckley passed away in 2021 at the age of 72.

Or he could just chose to relax – and taunt a certain indicted, twice impeached former president- at his newly purchased $51 million Mar-a-Lago-adjacent Palm Beach estate. Ford is one Florida man we’d be happy to emulate.

Whatever Ford decides to do next, no doubt we’ll want to wear it, see it, or be it!

Check out more looks from Ford’s final Tom Ford collection below:

Related:

Tom Ford is about to make life even more awkward for Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago

The fashion designer and the former White House occupant have had a contentious relationship in the press over the years.

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