"THE GUCCI COWBOY" TOM FORD

If there were a picture under the word “polymath” in the modern dictionary, surely it would be a photo of Tom Ford. A small-town architecture student who cut his teeth in fashion, Tom Ford raised luxury brands such as Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent out of the dust, created his own eponymous label, then totally reinvented himself as an edgy Hollywood film director. In a word, Ford defies the bounds of what it is to be a creative genius. Ford’s aesthetic is synonymous with glamour, sophistication, beauty and above all, sexual seduction. No stranger to controversy, his exit from fashion plainly shocked the industry he helped shape. Yet Ford went on to prove his unique vision and sphere of influence extends beyond the world of style to visual design, art direction, film production and storytelling at its Oscar-worthy best. Tom Ford came from humble beginnings in suburban Texas and New Mexico, surrounded by open plains and mesas. This was not the landscape for his imaginings. Even at the tender age of 6 he was rearranging furniture and giving his mother tips on her hair and shoes. As he grew up, Ford had a wider, more opulent lifestyle in mind, one of penthouses and martinis in the epicentre of the Arts world. As soon as he was able, Ford escaped the burbs and moved to the heart of New York City, where he began studying art history at NYU. It was there he met his first love, Ian Falconer, who introduced him to the gay scene and the disco glamour of Studio 54, which would heavil