
Tom Ford’s collections for Gucci are the stuff of style legend. As artistic director of the home from 1994 till 2004, he championed all-out sexiness, placing risqué silhouettes and suggestive materials centre stage. His catwalks have been awash with cut-outs and cleverly-placed metallic {hardware}, together with silky shirts unbuttoned nearly to the navel (free the nipple, stated Ford!), and suiting in luxurious velvets that begged to be touched.
The ’90s and noughties style revival has introduced the American designer’s Gucci collections again into the highlight, with classic sellers and collectors alike clamoring for Ford’s items. Alexis Novak, founding father of Tab Classic, describes Ford’s Gucci imaginative and prescient as “the right mix of stylish and horny. He actually knew easy methods to ship easy seems that pack a punch and clearly stand the check of time.”
In line with style researcher and web sensation Kim Russell, who’s recognized on Instagram as @TheKimbino, “an period like Tom’s at Gucci will all the time be related as a result of it actually set the bar for everybody in style. Then and now.” To anybody contemplating investing, Neil Leonard of Lab2022, an Instagram account devoted to archive Gucci and YSL, says merely: “Purchase solely what you like! In case you don’t have an actual ardour for a group or the piece then why make investments your money and time?”
As the style world waits to see what Gucci’s newly appointed artistic director Sabato de Sarno has in retailer, six specialists share their insights on easy methods to supply Gucci by Tom Ford treasures, and the important thing collections to look out for.
Kim Russell (@TheKimbino), style researcher
Standout assortment:
My favourite assortment is spring 1999—it’s a type of actually enjoyable and horny but easy collections that I by no means get bored with researching. Quite a lot of my favorite celebrities have been noticed carrying it in ’99, and extra lately it has been worn by Rihanna.
Recommendation:
Keep vigilant, as a result of the items which can be well-maintained and fairly priced will go inside minutes. That being stated, there are completely no moderately priced items on the market in the intervening time. I feel it’ll take some time for the craze to die down however when it’s dormant, that will be a good time to begin trying.
What to bookmark:
Some folks actually love investing in these G-strings or equipment, and a few acquire clothes from the ready-to-wear collections – I lean in direction of the latter.
Justin Friedman (@TomFordForGucci), director of gross sales at a luxurious style retailer
Standout assortment:
The gathering I one way or the other all the time find yourself coming again to is spring 1997. The top-to-toe look envisioned by Tom [Ford] and Carine Roitfeld—the meanest, sharpest tailoring, the skinniest pants slashed open on the foot to indicate off stilettos that have been cuffed to the ankle, the slinkiest silk or velvet slip attire barely held onto the physique by a series strap, the GG G-string… all worn by attractive, sweaty, smoky-eyed fashions who regarded like they’d lived quicker in a single night time than you might in your total life. It’s all the time appeared to me to be much less about trying horny, and extra about trying sexual.
Recommendation:
Go away your sticker shock behind. After I first began looking resale websites for items from Tom Ford’s Gucci, the choice was monumental and the costs weren’t terrifying. Reduce to now and the costs have gone wild, thanks partly to a few of the most well-known girls on the earth carrying items from these collections – to not point out some know-it-all blogger who began obsessively documenting them on Instagram.
I feel you additionally have to know what you need the piece or items for. Except you’re constructing an archive or completely wardrobing your self, skip the industrial spin-offs and showroom items and go straight for the runway/advert marketing campaign stuff. Additionally, know your seasons! I’ve seen so many items from after Tom’s tenure being marketed as Tom Ford for Gucci on resale websites. And don’t hesitate. In case you adore it, purchase it. Severely, I’m nonetheless recovering from a spring 2000 ruched leather-based bomber jacket that I “wanted to consider”.
What to bookmark:
I’m actually feeling a few of the purses as of late. These unbelievable flap baggage with the outsized horsebit from fall 2003 and spring 2004, or the velvet and crocodile numbers with the jeweled dragon clasps from fall 2004 are actually calling to me. They appear completely completely different from what’s available on the market proper now, in order that they’re sure to show heads, and in contrast to a few of of the actually iconic able to put on, the luggage are straightforward to work into your personal look. Even a few of the much less publicised Gucci baggage from that period are fairly fabulous. Plus, they’re but to have a serious comeback second just like the Baguette or the Saddle bag, however they actually deserve one!