Gucci by Tom Ford: “Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow”
By Mari Davis
Photos by Giovanni Pucci

MILAN, Jan 15, 2004/ FW/ --- It’s almost like a play in 4 acts, with the Gucci Menswear show as the first act, as Tom Ford, fashion and style conjurer for the past decade shows his farewell collections this season.

Act I Scene I was introduced by pole dancers gyrating their rhinestone-clad hips to the music of Khia, the lyrics of which will rival Eminem in terms of sexual innuendos.

With mirrors as a backdrop, and the runway snow white, Tom Ford (Photo at left) proposed the “Gucci Man” for Fall 2004.

Crisp jackets, fitted cardigans, and body-hugging white pants paraded on the runway. Cable and tunic sweaters, chalk-striped suits, blue velvet smoking jackets and suede biker jackets --- everything and anything a man would want, whether a metrosexual or a regular guy.

With models literally holding a drink and a cigarette on their hands, the runway show was like a party, reminiscent of the ones thrown by Hugh Hefner during his heydays, and even up to today, when Playboy had turned 50.

But the show was not homage to Hugh Hefner, but more to his philosophy of hedonism, which is one of the big trends in Milan this season.

It was not even a retrospective of Tom Ford’s past collections either, but rather an amalgamation, resulting to an idealized version of the “Gucci Man.”

Because, all things considered, it was Ford who created that man. Fourteen years ago, he was an unknown, a dark horse, as risk takers would say, hired to revive a tired label.

All those doubts about him were erased when Tom Ford took center stage nine years ago in Milan, presenting his first Gucci menswear collection.

It was a hit, and to use a phrase, “the hits kept on coming.” Gucci under the helm of Tom Ford ushered into a new golden age and became a fashion must have.

He did not just revive the label. In a lot of ways, he reinvented it. Keeping what is good in Gucci – great craftsmanship in its leather and accessories lines, the native Texan expanded the product lines and added a generous dash of Madison Avenue marketing savvy into the equation.

Understanding and knowing the motto, “sex sells,” he became the purveyor of what is chic and sexy, playing on the man, or woman’s active libido.

And it was all there, during his grand finale for Gucci Menswear – overt sexuality, yet in good taste.

Tom Ford even managed to send elongated loafers in russet crocodile with the trademark Gucci red and green straps; reptile skin bags with fabric inlays in college scarf colors and raffish seventies sun glasses --- the accessories which is the backbone of Gucci business.

When the show ended, Tom Ford took his final bow, raising a drink in a glass etched with the double G logo he himself made famous, to the audience in a toast.

It was classy, it was subtle… it was triumphant!

And he is not riding into the sunset like an old cowboy either. If rumors are true, we will see him in Hollywood, using his formidable talent in movie sets. And it will be from the runway to the red carpet, this time, in search of a golden statuette called Oscar.

Gucci by Tom Ford

Gucci by Tom Ford

Gucci by Tom Ford

Gucci by Tom Ford

Gucci by Tom Ford