In the dark before the Tom Ford show began, the end titles music from Basic Instinct played on repeat (at least that’s what Shazam told me). Sharon Stone herself was in the front row, joined by Uma Thurman, Eva Green, Sam Claflin, Dominic Sessa, and Callum Turner. The paparazzi couldn’t seem to get enough of them, which is fitting. Peter Hawkings, now in his second season at Tom Ford, makes heat seeking fashion; the eveningwear in particular is designed with an eye for the spotlight.
So far, so Ford. Hawkings spent decades working for the brand founder, and understands his aesthetic better than anyone. His mission this season was to begin to break free of the past and find his own stamp to move forward.
He started by sending out a series of military-inflected coats and jackets, plus a romper suit with brass buttons. He pointed out that these were specially designed for the label, adding that all of the collection’s fabrics were also developed exclusively. Those military pieces were well done, and will appeal far beyond the celebrity contingent in attendance tonight.
As a designer, Ford was a man of excesses, and before he sold the brand he was fond of pushing his collections to the edge, inviting a raised eyebrow, and questions of high taste and low taste. Hawkings has scrubbed that sense of provocation away. His Tom Ford is still sexy, but somehow in a safer way, the naked crystal mesh flapper dress and see-through catsuits notwithstanding. The Vanilla Sex to Ford’s Rose Prick, say—a comparison Hawkings seemed to be courting with the new fragrance he sent with the invitations.
Though Hawkings specialized in menswear under Ford, his women’s tailoring was the new collection’s strong suit, as it was in his debut. Last season it was a reprise of Ford’s Gucci era velvet smokings; this time around it was his three-piece suits with wide-lapeled jackets, shrunken waistcoats, and high-waisted pants designed to hug the bum, “grab you around the thigh,” and flow to the hem, which were shown in a silvery gray, pinstripes, and vivid purple. Fit, Hawkings said, “is so important to me.” It showed.
