Tom Ford's Take

I am the first to admit that I am a huge nerd. Today those nerdy-tendencies paid off. The WSJ had a two-page article on Tom Ford entitled "The Future of Luxury: Custom Fashion, Cheap Chic." For everyone without a subscription here are some of the high-(and low)-lights:

•Luxury goods will become even more personalized. The article sites the personalizable Dior bags and monogrammed Coach purses from last fall as precursors. For Tom Ford, he plans to follow suit with twelve individual fragrances instead of a one-size-fits-all approach.
...My take: If people want customizable, then luxury brands will provide them. I would say that is the whole basis of couture fashion- perfectly made clothes for your unique figure. I do not really consider launching twelve scents a huge step.

•Mass, inexpensive fashions will stay in style. We are all familiar with the high-to-low concept. Target and H&M have been particularly successful in this manner. According to Tom Ford, "This is the democratization of fashion."
...My take: It is great that good fashion is available on a wider scale. However, I feel like the term 'democratization' is vastly overused. The quality of a Behnaz Sarafpour dress at Target is not even comparable to the higher end one. Until the quality of the low-end versions is improved I would hold back the overstatements.

•Sensual over sexy.
...My take: Agreed! It is about feeling beautiful and comfortable in your clothes.


•Logos are losing their cache. Basically those logos have been done to death. In Tom Ford's opinion these logos are "only as valuable as the brand it represents."
...My take: Logos do grate on me at times. This is especially true of Coach purses, which I used to love. Now I see them everywhere, it is like a C monster just threw up on your purse. Even worse are the knock-offs and the people that carry them. They do not look real. Carrying an ugly fake makes you look cheap and out of the loop, not the fashionista you think you look like.


•Celebrity marketing is here to stay. Those five page ads with your favorite celeb are sticking around.
...My take: I wish this were not true. I would take a random model over Angelina Jolie or Nicole Kidman any day. Although I did like the Black Orchid campaign that went with a socialite (Julia Restoin-Roitfeld) instead.

Thank you WSJ for the daily enlightenment.