PARIS (Reuters) - American designer Tom Ford on Sunday painted the catwalk red in a flamboyant farewell show at Yves Saint Laurent, sealing a decade which saw him climb to the pinnacle of fashion on a heady cocktail of glamour and sex.
With a standing ovation, guests mourned the end of an era summed up by Ford's glitzy designs for Italian leather house Gucci and his sensual reworking of the Saint Laurent myth.
In his last collection under the auspices of luxury goods maker Gucci Group, which owns YSL, the designer paid homage to China with military-style satin cropped jackets and cheongsam evening gowns that glimmered with a thousand sequins.
"It was a dazzlingly opulent statement," said U.S. Vogue editor-at-large Andre Leon Talley. "He ended on an up note."
Models paraded in jewel-colored peplum jackets with peaked shoulders paired with figure-hugging pencil skirts with curled lace motifs that were vintage Ford.
The Texan rose through the fashion ranks swiftly and anonymously before exploding into the public consciousness in 1995 with a retro-style Gucci collection that caught the eye of Madonna (news - web sites) and Gwyneth Paltrow (news).
In less than a year, the label zoomed from has-been to must-have, with the notoriously perfectionist Ford controlling everything from packaging to advertising campaigns.
Five years later, he also snatched the reins at Saint Laurent, where his updated versions of the black peasant blouse and women's tuxedo spawned a thousand high street imitations.
Retailers have predicted a run on his final collections, set to become instant collectors' items. Saint Laurent fans should rush to put their names on a waiting list for the tiered leopard-print fur coat with rounded shoulders and bell sleeves.
Ford said recently he plans to take some time off before trying his luck as a film director. Hollywood may already be knocking -- among the front row guests on Sunday was Miramax Films co-chairman Harvey Weinstein.
Photographer and close collaborator Mario Testino said he hoped the departure was not final. "Maybe he'll come back later. I don't think he'll stop, you can't stop when you get to that level," Testino told Reuters.
Magazines have been filled with nostalgic tributes to the man who used sex to sell everything from handbags to yoga mats.
As famous as the Hollywood stars he dressed for the red carpet, Ford seemed to embody the sulphurous lifestyle he peddled, with his dark good looks, five-o'clock shadow and permanently unbuttoned white shirt.
He broke taboos with "p*rno chic" advertising images that included a model with her pubic hair shaved in the shape of a Gucci logo. Industry watchers said the end of his reign marked the death of the superstar designer.
Retailer Pinault Printemps Redoute, which is taking full control of Gucci Group this month, reportedly plans to replace Ford with a quartet of little-known designers in a bid to draw attention back to the brand.
Confident to the end, Ford took his bow wearing a velvet jacket in bright red -- the Chinese color of luck.