Tom Ford

Product Information

The reason why I wanted to do that at the time was, yes, Gucci and Saint Laurent existed way before I went there, but in the case of Gucci, there really were not runway shows before I went. And there really were not complete collections. I say in the book that you get to give the world your taste once. And it’s true. I made my case at Gucci and then later at Saint Laurent. So I wanted to take that with me when I left and I wanted to put my name on it. What was your mindset in 2004 when you finished the book? Alexei Hay I’d love to talk about your films. You mentioned that you have a cinematic project that you would be interested in bringing to life. I’m not sure if you can talk at all about what that might be. More broadly, I’m curious about the types of stories you are looking to tell.

My first film, A Single Man , was highly personal. I grafted my personality onto that of Christopher Isherwood, because I took certain themes of the original book, and then blew them up so they became the principal message behind the film.When I started working on the book, my company was 15 and I was turning 60. It was interesting, because I could so easily remember everything that was happening to me at that time in my life. I look at a dress or a piece of menswear or a photograph and think, “Oh yeah, I was living there, I was doing this. That’s why I designed this. This is what was going on in my personal life, this was what was going on in my business life.” … So it was very cathartic and reflective. Go ahead and ask me whatever you would like. I’ll just jump right in. I would love to hear a little bit about the process of making the book. You’re making a history, you’re curating moments and images from this entire period: What was significant to you?

I don’t sleep. I enjoy working. I don’t actually know what I would do without working. It fuels everything. I think I’m often the best when I’m working on multiple things at the same time because I’m excited about one thing that I’m doing and that spills over onto everything else because I’m happy. That excitement fuels over and I feel more creative, but it is weird because it also makes you realize how fast it all goes. I do wish I had more time to sit at a cafe and have an omelet mixte and a Coca Light you know, so it’ll be interesting to see what I do now. But honestly I’m seeing it through the lens of having just lost Richard, and now it takes on a different meaning. I talk about that a lot in the book. I didn’t stop drinking until well into the development of my own brand. I continued with that. In fact it probably got even worse. When I was an alcoholic, well, I guess I still am an alcoholic, but when I drank I was a highly productive alcoholic; it didn’t hinder my work until maybe right at the end. That was one of the reasons I needed to stop. Wow. So, of course, Book 2 investigates your career and life as a director. How did that come about? I’ve been vegan for about four years, but lately I’ve been eating a little bit of fish every now and then. And yeah I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I don’t do drugs. I drink caffeine, I play tennis, I take care of my son. And it’s a very different life; it sounds very dull, but I don’t know. I have no desire to have a drink whatsoever. It’s very interesting. Absolutely none. So I don’t miss any of that. The vegan thing came because I watched a movie What the Health? and once a year I go to this place where I fast for five to seven days and I was doing that and watched that film and somehow thought, you know, I don’t need to eat meat anymore so I stopped. Wow. So, of course, Book 2 investigates your career and life as a director. How did that come about?Oh, I’m alright. I have good days and bad days. It’s better when I’m working because then I’m not thinking about everything. You know what it’s like. Well, it’s certainly been an exhilarating lift going through the book, I have to say. I did the same with Nocturnal Animals. Amy Adams’s character was very, very different in the book. In a sense, she became my alter ego in that film. I highlighted a thing I’ve struggled with in life, which is materialism over the importance of the people in your life. I think whatever you make as a filmmaker, those are the things that resonate. The special collection of photographs comes just in time for the holidays, as the perfect gift for any synonymous fashion lover and Ford fan." CRFASHIONBOOK.COM I can’t speak specifically about what I’m writing at the moment. God knows when I’ll finish it or when I’ll have the time to make it—well, actually I’ll have a couple things—but it is another very personal story, told in a fictitious way.