Vogue Gets First Dibs on Tom Ford's Return to Womenswear

While some 14-year olds may be taking the magazine industry by storm, you better believe that Anna still has her death grip on certain things. For example, she was given dibs on releasing the first images from Tom Ford's triumphant return to womenswear. If you'll remember, when Ford showed back in September, instead of having an enormous show, packed with press, buyers, editors and lights, camera, action he opted for a decidedly private, quiet affair. He invited 100 important editors and buyers and did a campy re-enactment of an old fashioned couture parlor room presentation, where the designers would call out the models and describe, with flamboyant vigor, the wares . But perhaps the most shocking thing about his show is that one -- yes, one -- photographer was present, Out contributor Terry Richardson, and those photos are not to be released until December, in addition to a short film on the making of the collection, when his website relaunches.

When you're Tom Ford, and you spend years toiling at Gucci and YSL and everyone knows you know exactly how to make a woman feel sexy, and you walk away from it being the kind of two major fashion empires to focus on your own menswear line, you'd better believe that this is a comeback that many women have been longing for. The accompanying article, by Sarah Mower, is quite interesting as well. Here are some highlights:

On the immediacy of fashion coverage: "I do not understand everyone's need to see everything online the day after a show. I don't think it ultimately serves the customer, which is the whole point of my business--not to serve journalists or the fashion system. To put something out that's going to be in a store in six months, and to see it on a starlet, ranked in US magazine next week? My customer doesn't want to wear the same thing she saw on a starlet!"

On dressing celebrities for awards shows: "I'll wait to see who's nominated for the Oscars. Then I will offer to dress one person." (editors note: Julianne Moore, obviously)

On what inspired his own womenswear line: "It's about individuality. Real clothes, real women. For a fashionable woman aged 25 to 75. That's why I literally put many of my own muses in the show. I hear them say, 'God, I can't find that anywhere!'"

On trends: "I want this to be somewhere a woman knows she can go when she wants a great jacket--not a fake expensive jacket, something that has intrinsic value. I don't think fashion has to change every five minutes. I'd like these to be clothes you can wear for a long time--ten, 20 years; pass on to your daughter. Why buy vintage when you can open your own closet!"

On his next movie: "The movie [A Single Man] was catharsis. That was my homo-angst movie. Now I'm shooting another. I'm writing the script--a comedy. I'm in the mood to have fun and smile."

His favorite fashion time period: "The seventies is what I love. Soft, touchable beauty is what I love. I want to be touching the skin; I prefer no bra--I want to be able to slip in my hand."

On why he doesn't drink anymore: "I used to think I was funny only when I was drunk. But inhibitions are there for a reason. Sometimes you're not supposed to tell somebody that her tits are sagging. You're not supposed to reach across and fondle someone's breast in front of her husband and tell her that her implants are far too high and that if she massages them this way, they'll go into the right space. A very famous person with a very famous husband, who did not speak to me for a long time."

On why he's not such a fatalist anymore: "The day I don't love to do it, I'll sell it. Because we're all only here for a little while, and nothing we do or make has any permanence at all. I care now because I'm doing it. I want to be proud of what I do. Which may be ten or 20 years; who knows?"

Previously > Tommy Hilfiger Taps Simon Spurr for Menswear
all photos courtesy of Vogue/Steven Meisel