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Fashion Designer Tom Ford

Born in 1962, Tom Ford hails from Austin, TX and spent most of his life in Santa Fe, NM. As a teen, he moved to New York City and attended New York University studying art history. He then moved to the famous Parsons School of Design in both New York and Paris, and concluded at Parsons in New York. Here he would hang out in Studio 54 meeting A-listers and writing his papers and designs on napkins. In 1990, he got his first break with a move to Milan and being hired at Gucci as the women�s wear designer. 1992 saw him become the design director and in 1994 he became the creative director at Gucci. This made him responsible for designing all lines from clothing to perfumes, as well as for the Gucci image, advertising, and store design.

In 2000, Gucci acquired the Yves Saint Laurent group and Ford became the creative director of this segment of Gucci. At this point he was creative director of both YSL and Gucci designing and positioning both brands, product categories, and communications. In 2002 he was named vice chairman of the management board, and in 2004 he resigned from the Gucci Group after a buyout from Pinault Printemps Redoute.

Following this, Tom Ford branched on his own and has just recently opened a new menswear store in New York. You can find the three-story flagship at 854 Madison Avenue, and you won�t be able to miss the huge brass nameplate signifying his solo creation. The couture you will find here is strictly Ford`s personal style, and the second floor itself is an entire floor dedicated to the bespoke design.

His success has been recognized through four prestigious Council of Fashion Designers of America (1996, 2001, 2002, and 2004), five VH-1/Vogue Fashion awards (1995,1996, 1999, 2002, and 2004), Best Fashion Designer TIME Magazine and many many more. In March 2004 Tom Ford received a Rodeo Walk of Style Award for his contributions to fashion and film, and in 2005 he received the Andre Leon Talley Lifetime Achievement Award from the Savannah College of Art and Design.