Tom Ford (born August 27, 1961 in Austin, Texas), is an American fashion designer. He is considered one of the most famous and influential designers ever.

After graduating from the Parsons School of Design in 1986, initially having studied architecture, he took design jobs with Cathy Hardwick and Perry Ellis . In 1990, Gucci's creative director Dawn Mello recruited him to design women's ready-to-wear, and later Ford moved on and became the chief director for Gucci. By 1999, Ford had brought Gucci from an almost bankrupt business to a fashion power worth 4.3 billion dollars. When Gucci acquired the house of Yves Saint Laurent, Ford was named the creative director of that label as well. In 2004, Ford stepped down from both of his positions, with talks about wanting to direct films.

Openly gay, Ford considers himself married to his partner of nearly two decades, Richard Buckley (1948- ), a fashion and style journalist who resigned on 4 February 2005 as editor in chief of the magazine "Vogue Hommes International ". Ford has mentioned in an interview that he would like to have children, but that Buckley is against the idea.

Noted for his interest in modern architecture, Ford has commissioned houses from the Spanish architect Alberto Campo Baeza and the Japanese architect Tadao Ando.

Books

• Tom Ford, 2004

External links

• South Beach Magazine Article on Tom Ford with photos.

• Index Magazine interview, politically focused
• "Article about Tom Ford" (CNN)