Tom Ford S/S 2017

[Spike413]

There's something in the stark daywear looks in black & white that are giving me a distinct whiff of his iconic Fall 1996 collection, only without the structure and slickness. Sort of a Donna Karan-ified take on that Gucci look. It's as if that young woman grew up, left the VIP booths and got in touch with the earth just a bit. Whether or not that's a good thing is open for debate, but in some looks -- like the long cream duster coat, crew neck and fluid trousers with the big brass-detailed belt -- it has a definite allure to it.

It's missing the humor though, the sense of "I know this is wrong but it feels so right" that has, until as recently as Fall 2015, defined his work. It's not bad, it's just not as good as it could be.

 

[AnaD]

Didn't Monse do that split side sequinned tee-shirt-dress thing last season. The Monse version is much nicer too. The model is awful!

 

[disco54]

The model ruins the clothes , should have use a more mature and lissome yet glamourous model. I like his clothes in fashion shows, I also think he needs to get a stylist

 

[Creative]

This looks awfully dated.

That's a subtle way to put it... My gawd, his fashion couldn't be any worse since day 1. And the pictures. The styling...

 

[vetements]

I can see why people thinks it's dated.
This does feel like his Gucci circa 1997, bit like someone aptly pointed out, I love it cos it's tom ford, the man can do elegance and quality, so even if it's not even an updated Gucci, it's fine, it's wearable chic (at a high price tag). He is still 10 times more talented than jw Anderson and 100 times more than Maria grazia chiuri.

 

[Phuel]

^^^ Absolutely.

Tom knows his clientele. He’s dressing a lifestyle. His is not a gimmick for the next few months to be discarded. When I see his pieces in the store, they look and feel like they’re meant to last, not just as a luxurious investment, but also as pieces that will fit into your existing wardrobe to be worn for years to come. Of course, the casting, the styling and the production here— and the footwear, isn’t doing much for me and totally gives off a stale whiff. Weird how Tom signed off on this production.

Designs like JW's is pure, cheap gimmick. His designs are totally disposable and own everything to hype: Wear it once, twice, maybe three times, and you’re bored of it. They have no life beyond the initial hype. Now that’s dated.

 

[Creative]

Like it or not JW has shaped fashion these past years. And disposable fashion is part of what gives sense to fashion. Actually, everything is disposable.

I don't like shopping/clothes so I try to go for neutral things, but still after one month wearing it I'm already bored and don't want to see that garment again.

And I think when talking about a collection or a designer people should not say "It's still better than this, than that". Who cares about comparisons? Tom would never be as good as Nicolas for example. But it's like comparing an apple to a car. Tom is styling and Nicolas is (was) a fashion genius. Two different things and both are necessary, so I don't get the JW-Tom Ford comparisons.

These days Tom Ford is nothing and that's the real question.

 

[Phuel]

^^^ That’s just a matter of preference. What you prefer— and that seems to be only the latest, doesn’t make what is classic, irrelevant.

To say that someone like JW is the leading tastemaker of the current state of fashion isn’t great props to him since high fashion is in the most dire state it’s ever been in.

 

[Creative]

If becoming the leading creative mind of an industry isn't great props to him I don't know what is. And he is not responsible of the state of fashion, the state of fashion is the answer of certain circumstances (the decisions made by LVMH, Gucci Group, Condé Nast, Internet, Social Media... and that people has lost the passion for fashion). So yeah, I do think JW is not great, but in a sea of mediocrity he has been capable of defining an aesthetic and a kind of style in terms of photography and fashion that many others have adapted...

And Tom is just making money and that's it, the clothes are obviously well made (if they weren't for the price they are sold...). Although, to be honest, a lot of things seen in high end stores are not that well made so I'll give him that.

My point is that Tom is totally lost and of course he is in his right to do this sort of things, but me as a fashion lover just wish that he would have never come back. He was a fashion god and now he is just a joke. A joke that makes non-disposable clothes according to you, yes, but a joke after all that doesn't even know how to manage his fashion line.

 

[Phuel]

^^^ Admittedly, his return under his own name is not the stuff of his legendary Gucci-days. But once I accepted that he was more interested in dressing an already existing costumer that was more set, and confident in their lifestyle and less interested in wearing the latest fashion statements— and Tom himself not at all interested in creating Gucci 2.0, I’ve appreciated that brand of classicism based on a very personal direction. And once I started wearing his designs, selectively and mixing them with other designer pieces— both new and vintage, I started to really adore his brand of worldbuilding that goes beyond fashion. Nowhere is my lifestyle close to those characters in his films, but I can relate to them more than I do to some forced, abstract, and vey lazy ideal from the likes of JW, which leaves me cold-- and totally bored. Different strokes and all that, of course.

I don’t think in general Tom's designs are “lost”, nor are they a “joke”. It’s all good if that’s how you feel about him; his is obviously not your thing. As mentioned, his current presentations however are rather tragic… They come off totally as a generic, cheap afterthought, which is rather confusing to me, since he doesn’t seem to be strap for cash to produce at least something strong-looking, nor the creative ability to conjure up something a tad more seductive than these ANTM-aesthetics. He’s giving me nothing in terms of his presentation— and I do wish he would, because there’s nothing more inspiring than a fashion designer whose designs are luxurious, bespoke, strong separates that lasts the test of fickle fashion times, and who also serve as a leading barometer in creative/art/fashion direction. But at this point in time, I’m more interested in what the shop has in store for me to buy, than whether his fashion presentations are going to lead high fashion again. I guess his triumph as a filmmaker is making up for his lack of branding.

(As for JW, nothing at this point will convince me he is not a lesser designer. I’m more than open to have my mind changed. I’m not holding my breath though.)