Haider Ackermann’s headline-making appointment as creative director of Tom Ford earlier this month may have rendered the Milan presentation of this interim studio-produced collection eminently missable, but watching it climb up the Vogue Runway rankings since the images were posted proves there’s power in the Ford name even without a well-known designer in the hot seat.
Though it lacked the wicked touch that Ford used to bring to his shows, a quality that Peter Hawkings’s short-lived run was also missing, this collection otherwise held to the brand codes. There was the sexy slink of knits, often shot through with metallic yarns, and there was the kind of boss tailoring that made Ford s menswear such a hot commodity. Especially strong was a sharply cut jacket in pinstripe wool, and nighttime versions of the same silhouette in fabrics with a velvety sparkle. A to-the-floor T-shirt dress in tiny silver beads was the winner among the evening options; it’d be as easy to wear as it is statement-making.
Also in the mix were buttery leather jacket-and-skirt sets, a silky jumpsuit that called to mind the ’70s of Halston, and a plethora of sporty short-shorts. Having tracked Ackermann’s particular brand of vagabond chic for over a decade, it’s hard to imagine those shorts in the Tom Ford brand’s future, but only time will tell. Next stop: Paris, where Ackermann will present his debut collection for the label on the runway in March.
