Quoted.

Hong Kong's Prestige Magazine interviewed uber-designer Tom Ford for their most recent edition. The shots of Tom are all done by the very talented Jeff Burton. I've always admired Tom Ford's work. He is the man that brought relevance back to Gucci back in the nineties and has continued his fine award-winning work at Yves Saint-Laurent when that was acquired by Gucci. After his departure from both houses, he has gone on to start his own line called Tom Ford. He has recently branched out in to fragrance as well and has no signs of stopping is quest for style domination. He is always innovative and always...well...hot.

Tom had the following things to say -

PM: Lagerfeld says he does everything his way and takes no advice. What about you?

TF: Well, when my staff says to me, “Here’s plan A and this is plan B,” I always say, “There is no plan B. We have to figure out how to work plan A. And if you hit a wall you have to go around the wall, or dig under the wall, but you just don’t stop." I’m very much that way when I‘m determined and I think something’s right. I figure out a way to make it happen. So sometimes you pound your head into the wall, against the wall, around the wall, under the wall and you still don’t succeed, but you must make sure you’ve tried everything when you think it’s right.

PM: Words like “exclusive” and “limited edition” are used for everything now in fashion. For you, what’s authentic luxury?

TF: First of all, the product has to be made of the highest quality. Attention to detail – the way the buttonholes work, the way the back of the lapels are rolled back – and the best quality product.

On top of that you have to layer great service, because luxury for me is getting someone on the phone instead of an answering machine when I call. And it’s being able to get help when I walk into the store, and someone who calls me when something comes in that I might like, and sends it to my apartment and will pick it up if I don’t like it, and really takes care of the customer in a way that once upon a time people were able to receive that kind of service. That is a huge part of what luxury is for me right now – to be taken care of.

PM: What’s the first thing you notice when you meet a man?

TF: Confidence, confidence, confidence! And you can fake it. I mean, it’s best if it’s real. Actually, I’m a very shy person, and you might say that’s bullshit, but I am and I guess I developed that ability to project from an early age. It’s armour. A lot of performers have it, and I’m not saying that I’m a fake at all. In fact, sometimes I’m too honest when I talk to people – often when I talk to journalists. But you project that – the confidence – and the way you carry yourself and the way you walk. That’s the first thing I always notice, the thing that makes people jump out: somebody who walks right up to you and says, “Hi, how are you?” and looks you right in the eyes.

You can read the full article HERE. Enjoy. xox.