In the early 1990s, the House of Gucci was a name rapidly losing its lustre. Once synonymous with Italian luxury and craftsmanship, the house was hurtling towards irrelevance, marred by financial missteps and creative inertia. In 1994, the brand was on the brink of collapse. What followed wasn’t just a revival—it was an introduction of sex, glamour, irony, and drama, revolutionising the fashion industry in one fell swoop.
At the time, the fashion world was desperate, with the excesses of the ‘80s having faded, leaving consumers hungry for something more refined, fresh, and just a little dangerous. Enter Tom Ford: a relatively unknown Texan with a sharp jawline, a penchant for minimalism, and a revolutionary vision of what Gucci could be. Ford was a student of architecture and art history, with a passion for crafting an entire landscape through his art which also evolved into his work as a film director later in his career.
Before Ford, Gucci was a fading colossus lost in the throes of an identity crisis. With infighting among the Gucci family and a lack of clear creative leadership, the house had strayed far from its origins as a symbol of luxury, with conservative, understated, and traditionalist apparel created under the direction of Dawn Mello and Maurizio Gucci. By 1993, the brand’s direction had become erratic, and it teetered on the edge of financial disaster.
Although Ford had been with the house since 1990, his 1994 appointment as creative director signalled a turning point. Initially met with scepticism and creative tension, the teething process resulted in Ford’s 1995 collection which delivered a knockout punch to Gucci’s dated florals and dowdy silhouettes.
“Maurizio Gucci always wanted everything to be round and brown, and Tom wanted to make it square and black.” – Dawn Mello
The now-iconic collection featured velvet hip-huggers, unbuttoned satin blouses, low rise hipbone-baring sleek lines, and a sultry colour palette of smoky browns and deep crimsons. It was daring, provocative, and exactly what fashion needed. Ford’s Gucci woman was confident, sensual, and unafraid to command attention. And it wasn’t just the clothes—the entire Gucci brand began to embody this new identity.
The FW 1996 collection was where Ford truly hit his stride. Gucci’s transformation was the talk of the industry, with Vogue describing the collection as “a fashion equivalent of a one-night stand at Studio 54”. The breakout pieces—a velvet tuxedo, the famous white, slinky jersey dress, and those barely-there heels—became instant classics. The collections flew off the racks, and suddenly, Gucci wasn’t just profitable, it was desirable in a way that hadn’t been seen in decades.
Tom Ford wasn’t just designing clothes, he was crafting a world around Gucci, creating fantasies steeped in indulgence. His high-gloss and high-voltage advertising campaigns, shot by the likes of Mario Testino and featuring supermodels like Kate Moss, were seductive masterclasses in branding.
Tom Ford’s impact on Gucci extended far beyond his collections. Under his leadership, Gucci went from a struggling house to a $10 billion empire. When Ford left Gucci in 2004, he departed as one of the most powerful men in fashion, having turned the house into a brand that still dominates luxury to this day.
But more than the financial success, Ford’s tenure at Gucci left a lasting mark on fashion. His unapologetic embrace of sex appeal, visionary approach to branding, and meticulous attention to detail have influenced designers across generations. Today, Gucci’s daring spirit and embrace of glamour are still present, a testament to the foundation Ford laid during his time at the helm. Even today, Ford’s Gucci era remains one of the most talked about periods in fashion history.
Indigo Keane, Luxury Specialist
Top Image: 1998 Gucci jeans ad / Alamy
October 2024