B
eyond his vision,
Ford has always
been unapologet-
ically himself—
in both fashion and film.
He knows his customer and
while he may experiment
from time to time, it's an at-
tribute which has kept dis-
cerning individuals com-
ing back since long before
launching his own brand in
2006.
The Texas-born Ford
made his bones in the fash-
ion world in the '90s, when
he relocated to Milan with
his now husband, Richard
Buckley. Ford took a job
at Gucci, which at the time
was flirting with bankrupt-
cy. The brand was in trou-
ble, and everyone knew
it. It had failed to reach
the heights of other Italian
names like Versace and
Armani. Key players on
Gucci's design team began
to step down, but Ford re-
mained—ever devoted to
his vision. And by 1994,
Ford would be named cre-
ative director.
Over the next couple of
years, Ford would show
some of his most celebrat-
ed collections—debuting
nuanced garments like
velvet hip-huggers and tai-
lored satin shirts. Not long
after, brands all over be-
gan emulating Ford's col-
lections. Revenue was in-
creasing exponentially for
Gucci and with Ford at the
helm, cleverly steering the
brand's identity, it would
only continue to grow—
putting Gucci back on the
map in a big way.
VUE ON FASHION
V U E N J . C O M
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