Busy lane with Ford
NEW YORK — The day before he was set to kick off New York Fashion Week by debuting his fall/winter 2016 collections, fashion designer and filmmaker Tom Ford took a break to talk about pulling off a see now/buy now collection, juggling two careers and why he’s still looking for a place in L.A. — even though people think he bought a $50-million mansion out from under Jay Z and Beyoncé.
While showing a collection that consumers don’t have to wait months to buy makes sense — especially when they can watch a live stream of the runway show — what’s a little harder to understand is the supply part of the supply-and-demand equation. How is this going to work?
It’s actually pretty easy because I finished [designing] the collection at the exact same time that I always would have — in February [2016] — so I had a collection that I could have shown .... So I’d already identified the exact outfits that would be on the runway that [retailers] had bought. That’s the only way it would work. All those things are downstairs right now. They’re ready to go ...
And, in 10 days, I [will] define the [look of the] show that I will show in L.A. on the Friday before the Oscars.
So the runway looks are locked in pretty early in the process — based on buyer response?
I’m doing fittings because I can change the girl, the hair and the makeup and what music I want to have playing. But [garment-wise] I cannot change a thing because it’s not only been bought, but over the summer, we photographed each one of those outfits live on a girl, and as individual pieces, priced them all for our site because the minute the show is over it goes live and you can buy it.
How do you see that affecting the fashion industry press?
Newspaper journalists are still fine. They can still write and show pictures — and short-lead press like People, Us [Weekly] and In Style, that can turn things around fast will be fine. Vogue.com? Absolutely fine. Online? Yes. Long-lead magazines? Hmmm. No.
So I may have to come up with something in between those seasons for long-lead press. I have no idea. I’m kind of just playing it by ear.
Does the changing nature of your runway collection have any impact on the dressing you do for the red carpet?
That’s different because I usually make those things custom … I made one for Amy Adams the other night [for] Venice. It looked great so I’m immediately copying it to put it in our stores. But most of those I do from scratch for special events. I make things for actresses all the time, but they don’t usually want to wear something from the collection.
You’re just back from the Venice Film Festival, where your second film, “Nocturnal Animals,” received a pretty positive response. Has it gotten easier or harder to juggle the demands and schedules of the two worlds?
I plan all that so far in advance. There’s only one window every year where I can actually film a movie and that’s the fall, which I did for this movie and for “A Single Man,” seven years ago.
But editing is different. I set up an editing suite in my office in London where I’ll edit, go out for a fitting, go back and edit, go back to the fitting. I did that for seven months. [It’s] allowed me to go to [the] Venice [Film Festival], and I’ll be able to go to [the] Toronto [International Film Festival] and then L.A. I’m going to be working and living in L.A. this year instead of in London. [Ford’s son Jack started school in L.A. on Sept. 7.]
Oh, right. I read somewhere that you bought a huge Beverly Hills mansion out from under Jay Z and Beyoncé for $50 million.
That’s not true. I looked at that house, but I didn’t buy that house. We’re still looking for a house.
Last question: You’re not the only designer showing an in-season buy-it-now collection during New York Fashion Week. There are also a handful of temporary retail shops popping up around town. Do you think this is a defining season for New York Fashion Week — and the future of the fashion industry overall?
I think fashion is changing, and nobody’s quite sure of what it’s changing into. So everyone is trying different things. I think it will ultimately settle into what I’m doing. Because it’s the last thing in the world where you see stuff and can’t have it for six months. It doesn’t make a lot of sense.