And you can already buy it online
This morning, something rather revolutionary landed in our inboxes. Sender: My Theresa (the Munich-based luxury e-tailer). Subject line: Just revealed, new-season Tom Ford. For the first time ever, the 'see-now-buy-now' strategy you may have heard fashion headlines (usually involving Burberry) shout about over the past year, appear to be taking tangible shape. Tom Ford's New York Fashion Week show, which took place in the famous and recently shuttered Four Season's restaurant in New York in the early hours of the morning, is already available to buy online.
'Show & Shop, fresh off the runway and ready to be snapped up', the promo email encouraged. And true to their word, extravagant sequin dresses and plush velvet and ostrich feather floor-length skirts from Ford's autumn/winter 2016 collection, that mere hours previously were modelled by Carolyn Murphy, Amber Valletta, Gigi Hadid and Sasha Luss, were ready and waiting for Tom Ford fans on MyTheresa.com, for £3,750 and £3,990 a piece.
A clever move, which followed an even smarter show - in every sense of the word. Scroll on for all the highlights...
A splashy venue and A-list attendees Fresh from the Venice Film Festival where he showed his second movie, Nocturnal Animals - starring Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal - and following on the heels of Kanye West's Yeezy Season 4 extravaganza on Wednesday afternoon, the designer and sometime film-maker made his return to the catwalk after a one-season hiatus. The lucky guests were seated at round dinner tables strewn with orchids in the legendary restaurant, and faced a raised platform in the centre where the runway took place.
The 180-strong guest list included actors, musicians and fellow fashion designers including Julianne Moore, Tom Hanks, Uma Thurman, Neil Patrick Harris, Diane Von Furstenburg, Naomi Campbell, Iman, Rita Ora, Jon Hamm, Alicia Keys, Karlie Kloss, Jessica Hart and a newly-bearded Zayn Malik (all of whom were mostly clad in Tom Ford). A Golden Globes cameraman was drafted in to film the event (which was live streamed on TomFord.com) and a total of 22 cameras panned to catch their reactions Oscars-style.
The models
From Ford’s favourites throughout his career; Carolyn Murphy, Amber Valletta, Daphne Groeneveld and Sasha Luss, to the new guard of Binx Walton, Gigi Hadid and Lucky Blue Smith, the model line up was as starry as the show-goers. After the appetiser and entrée courses, the models took to the catwalk in groups of four, until the evening look section, during which they each had the runway to themselves in order to fully show off their lavish sequin and velevt gowns.
The collection Why change a winning formation? Or so appears to be Ford's mantra as the collection was a role-call of his signatures: animal prints, liquid sequins, waist-cinching belts, second-skin leather, sheer tops and kinky boots. Grace Hartzel opened the show in a leather jacket and pencil skirt with her hair coiffed into a retro shag (far left), setting the mood for the romantic and sensual show.
The Music
A smooth playlist that included Alicia Keys (who was sat tapping her feet in the audience) Fallin', laid the foundations for the gravel-voiced and smooth AF gospel and soul singer Leon Bridges to serenade the crowd with his jazzy hits Coming Home, Brown Skin Girl and Smooth Sailin'.
Apologies for any fashion week FOMO caused by this report.
Images: Instagram/gigi.hadid.news, j3nhan and chappkate
Rita Ora
Hailee Steinfeld
Naomi Campbell
Uma Thurman
Jessica Hart
Cindy Crawford
Jessica Chastain
Alicia Keys
Karlie Kloss
