The Tom Ford brand was built on a vision of unapologetic sensuality, cinematic glamour, and a cultivated aura of danger. Ford’s provocations, whether a logo G‑string at Gucci or the unprintable names of fragrances, were never mere shock tactics. They were strategic tools that transformed desire into business. Even as apparel began to shape the brand’s image, beauty and fragrance were its financial backbone. By the time Ford stepped away, he had cemented his legacy and secured the future of his empire.

After Tom Ford stepped down in 2023, Peter Hawkings took the reins as the brand's creative director. He had operated as the menswear director for years, and Tom Ford placed an immense amount of trust in him even while operating on opposite sides of the globe. Hawkings’ 25-year history with Ford made him a natural choice to succeed Ford, but his fidelity, once an asset, ultimately became a limitation in a moment when the brand needed evolution. As the Zegna Group sharpened its focus on expanding womenswear, Hawkings’s formidable menswear expertise could not support the brand’s pivot. His departure left a vacuum, but it also created an opening for reinvention.

Enter Haider Ackermann, a designer whose sensibility is both aligned with and intriguingly divergent from Ford’s. His appointment brings a creative voice known for its emotional depth, sculptural tailoring, and fearless use of colour to Tom Ford. Ackermann’s work has always carried a quiet electricity, a sensuality expressed through the tension between structure and fluidity. It is this quality that makes him an inspired choice for a house built on seduction, yet in need of evolution.

Ackermann has spoken of the responsibility he feels stepping into a brand so defined by its founder’s presence. He has described the process as one of learning and then letting go, a way of honouring the past while paving the way for a new narrative. His conversations with Ford, he says, were less about instruction and more about mutual understanding, a passing of the torch rather than a blueprint.

His debut show in March 2025 embraced the house’s signature themes of seduction, desire, and theatrical glamour, yet filtered them through Ackermann’s distinctive lens. Liquid draping and saturated colour created a dialogue between the night‑time sensuality associated with Ford and the softer “morning after” mood. Beneath the glamour, Ackermann also allowed a darker current to run. Black gloves appeared throughout the collection, and the sharpness of certain looks hinted at a cinematic tension. When asked about the reference, he laughed, acknowledging that he had recently revisited American Psycho. The influence was unmistakable, though he balanced it with a sense of vulnerability that softened the edges. This interplay between seduction and unease, between the night and the morning after, became one of the show’s most compelling threads. 

Courtesy of Tom Ford

The Franco‑Colombian designer shifts the mood for Fall/Winter 26-27, tempering erotic charge with a newfound ease. Ackermann’s gift is not only in the clothes but in the images they create. Like Ford, he understands that a fashion show is a silent film, each look a frame that lingers in the mind. Ackermann once again proved his ability to balance seduction with sophistication, sensuality with restraint. His vision is incisive without aggression, erotic without vulgarity, and entirely attuned to the brand he now leads.

Courtesy of Tom Ford