"You might notice we don't have a whole lot of suits and shirts and ties in the collection you're about to see," says Tom Ford as he welcomes us into the pristine, grey carpeted showroom at his world HQ in London's Victoria. "That's because we already have a very strong business in suits and shirts and ties - people know us for that. The thing we don't have enough of is sportswear - that's what we're concentrating on this season."
Even before the models marched out wearing the collection, we could tell the man was holding himself to his label's new focus: for the first time in four seasons he wasn't dressed in one of his signature wide-lapelled suits with a white shirt and black tie. Instead he was wearing dark jeans, an unbuttoned black shirt with a summer-weight scarf and a black safari jacket - a look that set the mood for a collection which, he told us, was inspired by the American West and his trips to New Mexico, as well as his partner Richard Buckely's impressive collection of Sixties dessert boots.
After last season's surprise appearance of trainers in the collection, this season's 30-look trunk show was dominated by jeans. Now comprising three fits - Ford assures us these are "for the guys with the bigger butt, the guys with bigger thighs and tall, skinny guys" respectively - each is cut from either American or Japanese denim and available in three washes, including an almost leather-like waxed iteration. These were all mixed up with high-end versions of cowboy-vibing basics like checked, popper-down shirts, neckerchiefs, fringed leather jackets, big buckle belts and a modern take on cowboy boots - which featured the trademark stacked-heel, but cut off just below the ankle. There was even a showing of double denim - a further first for the label.
However, suit fans needn't worry: there was still a dose or two of Ford's trademark tailoring. While there was only one suit shown, it was a masterful reworking of his formula into a more casual style: slim-fitting with narrower lapels, unstructured shoulders and patch pockets, cut from artfully crumpled washed cotton. Of course it wouldn't be Tom Ford without eveningwear, and once again the designer didn't disappoint. Three print-heavy dinner jackets were shown this year (one blue and one black jacket cut from two-tone zebra-print jacquard and one featuring a pink-heavy oil slick-looking pattern), each featuring noticeably slimmer lapels and worn with jeans and boots. All we need now is the gargantuan ranch in Sante Fe to wear it all on.
XX
