Armani 'hints' Tom Ford as his 'heir'

[lil smoochems]

from harper's bazaar, august 2005

'Speculation and gossip over Giorgio Armani's retirement have increased in the past year, and today he has given us the treat of selecting his ideal successor:

"Tom Ford could do it," says Armani without skipping a beat.
"It could easily be Tom."

article by J.J. Martin. page 160.

 

[liberty33r1b]

go, tom, go!! good to see you back!! can't wait to hear more......

 

[mishahoi]

^ do you guys think he would take it? i mean, i know he's been whining about feeling the urge about gettting back into the industry, but would he succumb? (i guess i would think.....yes)

 

[Lena]

wow.. thanks for the newsbit lil

 

[softgrey]

i think if tom ford comes back...he needs to do it under his own name or for a company which does not curently have a strong rtw identity...

he has too strong a point of view and i don't think he is good at working within the parameters of an already established design aesthetic...

he did well at gucci which never had a fashion collection before and miserably as ysl which had a pre-established image...
i don't see why armani would be any different...
if anything i think it would be worse, since armani is sooooo classic and conservative...
completely different market and customer than tom's...imo...

interesting to think about though...
thx lil smoochems...

 

[birdofparadise]

Armani is Gucci without the sex appeal. It has a large focus on celebrity dressing, has luxury in its vocab...he was already pining for a challenge and was looking to ditch designing for Gucci anyway. It could be right up his alley, especially since the mistakes of Gucci are out of his system and well documented should he forget.

 

[oStelios]

under his own name or not I would like him back

 

[dsq]

i think if tom ford comes back...he needs to do it under his own name or for a company which does not curently have a strong rtw identity...

he has too strong a point of view and i don't think he is good at working within the parameters of an already established design aesthetic...

he did well at gucci which never had a fashion collection before and miserably as ysl which had a pre-established image...
i don't see why armani would be any different...
if anything i think it would be worse, since armani is sooooo classic and conservative...
completely different market and customer than tom's...imo...

what i was thinking

 

[haydn]

he has a makuep line for estee lauder coming this fall / winter, and then he is establishing his own beauty brand. i've also read articles that stated he wanted to get back into menswear first before ladieswear, as men were more interested with the details and craftsmanship where women were more concerned with the 'look'.

as for armani, the brand is too big and too established for someone like ford to come in and shake things up. armani has so many lables and liscenses that ford wouldn't have the control that he did with gucci. i couldn't see him doing something like armani exchange, or even armani jeans for that matter.

only time will tell though. i personally would like to see this happen, but i'm worried with so many armani fans out there, this will turn into another ysl incident.

 

[tott]

Interesting, thanks for the info!

S/S '06 already looked a bit Gucciesque, so this could be a smooth transition, sort of...

 

[Lena]

armani is thinking $$$

 

[Spike413]

I'm kinda torn....

On one hand I agree with what softgrey said about him having too strong a personality to design for a company with a very defined image. On the other, Armani has the glamour and the luxury already established, maybe Tom could bring a new spin to the label.

Can't really decide.

 

[kit]

No matter what attributes Tom Ford has , he could NEVER be a successor to Armani .


Giorgio Armani needs a minimalist at the helm , NOT a purveyor of sexy clothing to the surgery sirens of the fashion beau monde .

 

[tott]

I actually think Tom Ford could be great for Armani, as much as I hated what he did at YSL and, to a lesser extent, at Gucci. I don't know why, but I think this could be excellent! As unlikely as it sounds...

 

[fouroclock]

I'm betting against it, but we'll never really know unless he tries.

If Tom Ford (or someone else) does take over, what is he taking over on?

 

[kimair]

i agree with softie...i think if and when tom ford comes back to fashion, it will be under his own name. i think he's already seen the issues one has when designing for someone else's house...

i think francisco costa would be an interesting choice for armani...he has the minimalist sensability that armani needs, but would add a twist.

 

[Lena]

the interesting point here is that it it Giorgio Armani himself who's been suggesting Ford as the most appropriate to handle the label.. i bet he knows better than us what he's aiming for, not a bad offer for Ford

agreed with tott that Ford could actually refine his act if he ever accepts to take artistic directing Armani.. it could give the Armani labels the 'punch' they miss, they would be instantly glamourous no?

also agreed with softie BUT Ford is a very clever man, he wouldnt involve himself in playing with the sharks.. if he started his own label, it would had to do under some lux group.. well, they are not too many around
i bet LVMH are not too hot on his style / attitude, Prada is absolutely out of question.. Gucci is burned already. He hasnt got too many options really, so a glamour postition in a house like Armani, sounds almost ideal for him..

 

[softgrey]

i've also read articles that stated he wanted to get back into menswear first before ladieswear, as men were more interested with the details and craftsmanship where women were more concerned with the 'look'.

that's interesting...
i hadn't thought of it that way...
it could work if ford started with the menswear and then progressed to the womenswear...
i've always thought that armani needed to 'sex it up' a bit when it comes to the women's collection...

classic, minimalist and tailored are all good in my book..
but armani often takes all the sex appeal out of the garment...
which i think is not so good...
he's always been a 'menswear designer' who also did a women's line...
hmmm


but what's this talk of retiring...??
i keep reading all these interviews with him about how he is a creative person and loves designing and why should he ever stop...
there's an interview in the fall WWD magazine that goes on and on about it...
odd...

*kit...surgery sirens...LOL... ...

 

[fouroclock]

I can never imagine an existing line named "Tom Ford," or "Tom"...

 

[kit]

I can never imagine an existing line named "Tom Ford," or "Tom"...

There's quite a famous marque of car called a ' FORD ' !!!
It used to have sexy tailfins ............