It’s official: Tom Ford is coming to Buckhead Atlanta

The logoed barricade went up yesterday alongside Dior’s
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Photograph by Nicogenin /  CC BY-SA 2.0
Photograph by Nicogenin / CC BY-SA 2.0

Can we talk about Tom Ford yet? The luxury designer and director is famous for privacy and discretion, having once held “secret” fashion shows and banned press and social media. This air of mystery has continued to his rumored-but-not-confirmed retail store at Buckhead Atlanta. However, when his logoed barricade went up yesterday at the main entrance of the development at Peachtree Road and Buckhead Avenue, his imminent arrival seemed to be announced.

Tom Ford—the man—is one of the most coveted names in fashion, having injected a faltering Gucci with sex appeal and glam as its creative director from 1994 to 2004, also laying the foundations of the Gucci Group—now Kering—and heading up design at Yves Saint Laurent at the same time. He put these heritage labels back into the limelight, slick and daring. Tom Ford—the brand—has the same cult appeal. His eponymous label launched with cosmetics and menswear in 2006, adding womenswear—a fast red carpet commodity—in 2010.

That he’s a darling in Hollywood (he calls L.A. home, though the headquarters is in London) is no surprise, as the multitalented Ford directed a critically acclaimed film, 2009’s “A Single Man,” in his “downtime.”

Yesterday, as it turns out, was a big day for Ford. The Hollywood Reporter announced his next film is expected to be “Nocturnal Animals,” an adaptation of an Austin Wright book titled “Tony and Susan,” with George Clooney as producer.

Ford’s latest collection combined fashion with the Hollywood element by staging his pre-Oscars ready-to-wear show in L.A., stealing the front-row (Anna Wintour) from the London shows and adding A-plus list stars (Gwyneth Paltrow, Beyoncé, and his longtime muse, Julianne Moore). If his collection arrives in time for fall (and if it includes womenswear at all—which as far as we know is not carried in Atlanta yet), we’ll be seeing denim, fringe, leopard, and crushed velvet—a more bohemian vibe than we typically see from the exacting Ford. The menswear? As sleek as ever, ’60s-inspired, with houndstooth jackets and eveningwear. The prices? Easily four grand for an off-the-rack suit.

Ford seems to have a Midas touch. Is he enough to attract more shoppers to the tony Buckhead Atlanta development?

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