Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the flarest of them all? In other words, who’s got flair to spare? Both questions were answered yesterday, along with a few fashion prayers when Tom Ford returned to his rock chic roots and paraded his entourage of rock chicks down a glitzy runway in London for all to see.
And when I say all, I do mean the world at large. Yes, we all screamed when we heard about the live stream. The show was carried on multiple sites, with the brand’s own site slowing down as global glamsters casually settled in their own seats, in front of multiple screens. It was a step in the right direction, albeit a tardy one.
The platform for his women’s collection has swayed for me these past few seasons, but today’s show was an affirmation of his solid footing on style terra firma. This is not to say that Ford relied on old tricks but rather, continued a story he started to tell us long ago – one we so longingly wanted to live within, one that we could define our own ending to. Attired in Ford’s collections past, we were able to be our fabulous selves, tailored to meet the needs of the day or to shine as required, on a given evening.
For the SS15 show, cover versions of Robert Palmer played overhead and it wasn’t hard to envision Ford replacing Palmer in the classic Addicted to Love video. This, however, was a new version of a familiar tune, with a younger voice. Ford’s band of women wore nude lips and slept-in eyeliner, those lined eyes covered by choppy shags that recalled a bit of punk, ’80s metal and ’70s glam rock hair all at once.
And there it was – that effortless combination of eras that I love most about Ford. He takes the best snippets of inspiration and melds them together in perfection, to appease our current desires.
He certainly made reference to his recent few collections (mirrored runway over mirrored bodysuits this go-around), knowingly acknowledged their presence but signalled to us that he’s had his fun. He also managed to still give Rihanna, Miley and Beyonce something to wear, with sheer-topped dresses and pasties included in this collection.
However, the tale worth telling here involves that return to tailoring – and to taste.
Take for instance, Those Trousers. (They deserve capitalization.) Did you not gasp at the sight of them? In an instant, they recalled the ’90s Gucci trousers by Ford that made our collective knees melt, and of course the bell-bottoms paired with clunky platform sandals took us back to the ’70s, but my immediate reaction to them was how fresh and new they were.
We’ve seen boot cut trousers return to the Gucci runway in recent seasons (Ford may have left but his influence never has), we’ve seen bells at recent YSL shows, but these Tom Ford trousers made me whistle – out loud.
Without the dated high-waist that defined ’70s flares, or the ’90s hip slice (can’t do that again, can we?) and with that tailored fit, they would be enough – but did you see the cut and fall of the fabric on those flares? It was an instinctual love – at least for this woman, who could frankly live in trousers for the rest of her life. And they kept coming: paired with a matching jacket; in pink brocade; in tuxedo pants; under a sheer skirt.
Those Trousers trounced any doubt I may have had about the Ford factor. It’s back and it’s looking at you, looking at it.
Can’t you see yourself as part of this story? Isn’t it the next chapter of your story?
Mr. Ford has mirrored your desires. Again.
Slick, indeed.
Welcome back, darling. Again.
Original runway photos by Gianni Pucci, edited by Yours Truly; backstage photos by
Sonny Vandevelde; all Indigitalimages via Style.com.
