THINGS I LOVE vol.6

　

Speaking of GUCCI, it is now the representative luxury brand that silences even the most crying children. But in the early 1990s, things were a little different. GUCCI, which was in the spotlight from the 1950s to the 1970s, became almost a relic of the past around the 1990s. Everyone knew about it, but it was only recognized as a bit moccasin brand.

You can understand this by watching the 2021 movie ``House of Gucci,'' which depicts the family turmoil of the founder GUCCI family. What brought about a big change was "outside blood." In 1989, Dawn Merrow, the creative director and president of Bergdorf Goodman (New York's No. 1 luxury department store), was invited to GUCCI, which had always been family-owned. She will serve as vice president and creative director, and from there the brand's rebirth will begin. Then, in 1990, she invited a young Tom Ford. Tom Ford actually began using his skills as a creative director in 1994, but before that, around 1992, GUCCI's advertising visuals had begun to become more and more sophisticated.

At that time, my style was all about DOLCE & GABBANA. However, I did pay attention to the changes in GUCCI's advertising visuals at the time. So in 1993, I was buying slightly modified bit moccasins with Vibram soles and a fine cashmere turtleneck sweater at a store in Rome. However, at that time, Tom Ford's hobbies had not yet come to the fore, and it was around 1996 that Tom Ford's worldview really came to the fore. Both women's and men's clothing have an overwhelming sense of luxury, with rich, modern, and most importantly, sexy looks. Advertising photo by Mario Testino. It had a fresh American feel that had not been seen in previous Milan collections. Rebranded with innovative belt and bag designs that boldly use iconic buckles and bits. By showing the world who Tom Ford is. Around the same time, PRADA's men's shop opened on Via Montenapoleone, and from 1996 to 1998, on Saturdays and Sundays during the collection season, the streets were packed with journalists, buyers, and even tourists, making it difficult to travel even short distances on foot.

Tom Ford's GUCCI has many clothes that would be suitable for a party scene. Tom himself appeared at the end of the show wearing his shirt open to the second button. There were many people around me in the industry who imitated this. I also liked biker jackets, evening shirts, and jackets, such as Tom Ford GUCCI, but back then I often wore DOLCE & GABBANA evening clothes, so the typical GUCCI items I bought at the time were white biker jackets and cashmere jackets with epaulettes. I was impressed with the cashmere jacket with epaulettes, which had military details expressed in cashmere material.

　
I think Tom Ford's rebranding of GUCCI was a huge hit until around 2000. And just to build on that success, Louis Vuitton's rebrand was rolled out. Building on the success of GUCCI, Tom Ford also began rebranding Yves Saint Laurent rive gauche (later Saint Laurent Paris), but this did not develop as well as GUCCI, and he resigned as creative director of both brands in 2004. In 2005 his name was TOM The brand was launched with FORD. Tom Ford, who led the successful rebranding of GUCCI, was the first to create the current format in which his appointment as the artistic director of a major fashion house becomes news. However, in Tom Ford's case, the key point was that he was not only a creative director, but also involved in management. Unlike many other examples, he didn't feel like he was being ``employed,'' but had overwhelming decision-making authority.

Today, Tom Ford has expanded his career to include directing and producing Hollywood movies. His business model, which flourished in the fashion industry in the 1990s, continues to be passed down to this day in a wide range of genres.

■Tomoki Yuma (@stsukezane）
Born in Kyoto City in 1965. Started his career as an editor in the editorial department of Magazine House ``POPEYE''. Currently, in addition to planning and styling fashion pages for magazines, she also designs advertising costumes for artists and musicians. Before the coronavirus, he covered men's collections in Paris and Milan for over 35 years.

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