Tom Ford: Designer for Gucci
Not since Karl Lagerfeld took over Chanel has there been such
a stunning comeback story as that of Gucci under Tom Ford. Prior
to his appointment as creative director in 1994, the house had
been mired in tabloid muck, hobbled by mismanagement and on the
verge of bankruptcy. Family members feuded or were thrown in jail
for tax evasion. The scandals reached soap opera proportions in
March, 1998 with the contract murder of Gucci's last male heir,
Maurizio Gucci, by his ex-wife.
Hot-blooded in-fighting
has always been part of the Gucci heritage. Its founder, Guccio
Gucci, the son of a Florentine craftsman, left his native Italy
at a young age over a sibling quarrel. He went to Paris then London,
where he became maitre d'hôte at the Savoy Hotel. There,
surrounded by the steamer trunks and hat-boxes of the Savoy's
blue-blooded clientele, Gucci first conceived of the idea of opening
a luxury leather goods business.
Gucci returned to Florence and opened his first shop in 1920.
The leather goods and equestrian accessories were such a success
among the cosmopolitan set that Gucci expanded into the United
States in 1953. The house became synonymous with wealth and quiet
ostentation in the '50s and '60s, attracting clients like Grace
Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, and Jackie Kennedy. Certain accessories
became classics -- the bamboo-handled handbag, flowered scarf,
and the moccasins, for example -- all adorned with the famous
red-and-green-striped logo.
By the 1980s, however, Gucci had nearly exhausted its prestigious name through over-licensing and family squabbling. In 1993, Investcorp, an Arab investment group, seized control, and put half of Gucci's stock on the market, effectively ending family control.
In 1994, Gucci axed most of its staff and promoted a 36-year old studio assistant named Tom Ford to the position of creative director. A native of Santa Fe, Ford had studied at New York University before dropping out to act in television commercials. He later enrolled at the Parsons School of Design in New York and Paris to study interior and fashion design. He spent the late '80s working for designers Cathy Hardwick and Perry Ellis, before joining the Gucci team in 1990.
Tom Ford overhauled Gucci's fusty image by marketing decadence and sensuality to an AIDS-conscious society that had "forgotten about sex". Velvet hipster trousers expressed the '90s ambivalent ethic of sexual containment: androgynous, sensual to the touch, for people who want to feel and look sexy for themselves, as well as -- or perhaps instead of -- for others. Metallic leather stilettos sharpened our image, giving us an aggressive stance while bruising our feet. White jersey dresses with tactically positioned oval cut-outs quoted Halston and the sex-spree days of Studio 54. And nothing, apparently, is sexier than money: Ford's leather thongs embedded with scarlet-sequined "G"s over the hip bone came with a hefty 2000-franc price tag.
The consummate middleman between business and creative design, Ford knows the object is not to sell an outfit but an entire mood. Which is why he uses subtly outré ad campaigns: the "ménage à trois" subtext of model Amber Valletta and two men; and the vaguely lesbian atmosphere of Gucci-clad women coolly contemplating each other. He has also popularized the practice of "editing" collections: defining each season with only one or two dominant "looks" that identify the label.
The rest of the story is stock. The house parlayed its ready-to-wear success into 11 licenses, causing its share prices to skyrocket in 1996. But Gucci seems to have sailed into troubled financial waters lately with stock prices tumbling following the Asian economic meltdown. Another intriguing development has come from the rival Milanese house Prada, which purchased 9,5% of Gucci's stock in July, 1998 and appears poised for more aggressive corporate raiding. Will Gucci's success -- so potent in the '90s -- run out with this millennium? That remains to be seen.
Tom,
call me!!! I can relocate :)