Tom Ford’s Very Small, Glamorous Show
By CATHY HORYN
When you’re Tom Ford, and you’ve been away from women’s fashion for six years, more than likely you’ve thought a great deal about your return, perhaps even plotted it down to the last buttonhole. That was the feeling imparted by Mr. Ford’s extraordinary show tonight, held in his men’s store on Madison Avenue before an audience of perhaps 100 editors. He had thought out every detail of the clothes and accessories, not least the kind of women whose glamour and personalities would express his ideas about dressing.
Mr. Ford narrated the show, with a touch of camp, calling out the name of each woman and then giving a lively, detailed description of her outfit. Though there had been rumors that Julianne Moore and some other well-known women would be in the show, I don’t think anyone in the audience expected such a dazzling cast. In addition to Ms. Moore, he had Beyonce Knowles, Emmanuelle Seigner, Lauren Hutton, Rita Wilson, Rachel Feinstein, Marisa Berenson, Daphne Guinness, Lisa Eisner, Farida Khelfa, Lou Doillon, as well as quite a few supers, including Joan Smalls, Liya Kebede, Amber Valletta, Daria Werbowy, and Stella Tennant.
Each looked sensational, and as individual as she could be. Asked if she had to think twice about being in the show, Ms. Knowles said afterward, as the models and guests poured onto the narrow runway, “Absolutely not!” She laughed. “Look at these clothes.”
They were the height of glamour — sharp pantsuits in black silk or a leopard pattern, gorgeous black evening clothes with sheer blouses, corsets and maybe a shrug in shredded tulle, impeccable details like hammered gold jewelry, stilettos with ankle ties and seamed black stockings. The style was recognizably Tom Ford, chic and womanly, and with that big-time sense of fashion that one sees less and less of today on the runways.
The women each looked sensational and individual