Tom Ford recently moved to the Los Angeles sunshine after a number of years in London, and his runway show Thursday was a fanciful ode to his current hometown.
One black sequinned sweatshirt was even emblazoned, ‘Tom Ford Beverly Hills’ — a play on Giorgio Beverly Hills, the famous old luxury boutique on Rodeo Drive.
As to the era, the opening soundtrack perhaps provided a clue: The Pointer Sisters’ “I’m So Excited,” followed by “Jump (For My Love)” - both hits from the early ‘80s.
There were lots of sparkles — either in the shimmering stretchy pants and tights, or in the huge, shiny earrings the models sported. There were roomy coats in fake fur, in colours like red and orange. One black coat was emblazoned with flowers in pink, orange and baby blue.
And there were tights — lots of them — under short dresses or simply under jackets, in solid colours or in animal-type prints in bright green or yellow.
It was Ford’s second runway show in two nights, following his men’s show on Tuesday. Ford’s women’s show always draws a glitzy crowd, and this time actresses Julianne Moore, Elizabeth Banks and Gina Gershon were among the fashion fans on hand.
Banks — dressed in an all-black Ford number — opined that the designer’s best quality was that “he loves the female form.” Asked if she wore a lot of Ford, she quipped, “Not as much as I want!”
While Ford has chosen to show twice this week, a number of other designers have left New York Fashion Week over the past couple of years to show instead in Paris, leading some people to fear the New York event is quickly waning. TV personality La La Anthony, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a black jacket revealing only a black bustier underneath, said she didn’t have the same fears. “I’m here and I’m super-excited,” she said. As for Ford, she said, “he takes over every time.”
