Published: Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Tom Ford Launches Web Site
By Courtney Colavita
MILAN — Tom Ford is now only a click away.
The American designer on Tuesday unveiled his first Web site, which features evocative images of his eyewear, as well as information on his new fragrance, Tom Ford Black Orchid, and the impending launch of his men's wear collection, now slated for April 2007.
"I think it is important to always address and use the primary media of one's time and we all have to face the fact that there is no more powerful media than the Internet," said Ford. "It is how most of us communicate, get our news, entertain ourselves, and increasingly shop."
Produced by Web designers Create the Group, the site is done in Ford's signature tones of brown and black and will be rolled out in multiple stages. The Web site, tomford.com, will eventually house an online Tom Ford boutique.
In addition to current sections, which include a lengthy Ford biography, editorial style images of lounging women in retro frames and product stills, pages will be added to reflect growing product categories under the Tom Ford label, namely men's wear, since the Texan has repeatedly denied any interest in returning to the women's clothing fray.
The stand-alone Tom Ford beauty brand, which includes hair perfume, cleansing oils and hydrating emulsion, is set to launch next month with Black Orchid (industry sources estimate it could generate $40 million at retail globally in its first year). This spring, Ford will simultaneously launch 12 unisex scents and install perfumery store-in-stores in his upcoming retail doors. His men's line, which was originally due out in November, is now slated to be introduced in April, when Ford's first directly owned store opens on Madison Avenue in New York.
Following the New York shop, select distribution will begin for spring 2008, and additional Tom Ford stores are planned for London, Milan, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Los Angeles over the next two to three years. The men's line is expected to generate more than $100 million in sales in the first three to five years.
Ford, who signed licensing deals with Marcolin, Estée Lauder and Ermenegildo Zegna, has been coming to Milan with more frequency to prepare the launch of his luxury men's collection. Produced by Zegna, the line will contain both ready-to-wear and made-to-measure clothes, furnishings and leather goods.
credited to wwd.com
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