When you think of the Tom Ford man, flashy suits, and glamorous social life, brimming with formal events come to mind. However, with the effects of Covid-19, Ford couldn’t bring himself to design a collection in the same fashion as usual.
Approaching the new season amid lockdown, Ford explains, “My sample rooms in Italy and Los Angeles remained closed for months. I honestly wasn’t sure if I could make a collection, even if I felt inspired to do so.”
The American designer continues, “As this, all dragged from spring into the summer, and as I think we could all feel a global depression [both financial and psychological] worsening, I thought about skipping the season altogether.”
Thinking within reason, Ford thought, “When no one can go out of their house, who needs new clothes. If you can’t go to the office, why do you need a new suit? If there is not a dinner or a party to go to, why would you need a new dress?”
For Ford, he “felt that honestly, fashion should simply go into hibernation for a year.” However, the easing of the lockdown in Los Angeles, small dinners with friends, mindful of social distancing, and a documentary about fashion illustrator Antonio Lopez lit the flame of optimism.
As life resumed, Ford expressed that “There was a light at the end of the tunnel or at least, an imaginary light; the hope of a happier time to come. That is what this collection is for me: the hope of a happier time. Still, a somewhat casual moment as it relates to fashion, but a time in which we need clothes that makes us smile. Clothes that make us feel good.”
Tom Ford Spring/Summer 2021 Men’s Collection
