So welcome back Tom! Oh wait, he doesn’t want to be addressed as Tom anymore but rather as Mr. Ford-got it- good. Now that we have cleared that up lets focus on the fact that he is finally designing clothes for women again-post retirement. As irritating as celebrities can be with saying, I am retired now-now I’m not, type of publicity, I have to put all feelings aside and welcome Mr. Ford back. I have always had a fond affection for Mr. Ford. He is handsome and polished and makes men and women look amazing. From him, I learned how to wear skinny pants with a see-thru tee and classy jacket, how to wear a smoky eye with a pale cheek and pale lip and embrace long straight hair parted down the middle. There was something about the pale colours that made women look über sex machine! He balanced the casual with the couture. His designs would still be a hot sell if he re-released them.
Now that Mr. Ford has evolved into this multi-faceted god, I have discovered a whole new personality at hand. Although I am not sure about his attitude I do believe that he has a point and may he be the first to say what other designers have dared not say. Here is what all the fuss is about:
“I do not understand everyone’s need to see everything online the day after a show,” he says. “I don’t think it ultimately serves the customer, which is the whole point of my business—not to serve journalists or the fashion system. To put something out that’s going to be in a store in six months, and to see it on a starlet, ranked in US magazine next week? My customer doesn’t want to wear the same thing she saw on a starlet!”(Vogue)
This quote drives me crazy in so many ways! It’s obvious that within his god status that exclusivity is his new claim to fame. It registers that he no longer wants to design for real women anymore. Only women who are pretty much royalty should don his clothes. Can he be anymore narcissistic? Suggesting a worshipping of the rich and famous and a fear of belonging to the average or mediocre, meaning worthless and despicable(Nernberg). Applying this narcissism Mr. Ford has said:
“I’ll wait to see who’s nominated for the Oscars. Then I will offer to dress one person.”(Vogue)
Good for him good for that person see you on the red carpet!
In defense of his ego he does have a point though of not wanting to be in the fashion tabloid magazine section. With mainstream media you have all these d-list reality celebrities on the red carpet wearing designers whose pieces become tacky and commercialized. The clothes become worthless and over-played. Although, this type of marketing does help boutiques sell sell sell! As I experienced in a boutique in Los Angeles, a sales clerk shows me a dress and mentions Kim Kardashian wore this dress and it is selling like gold! I personally wanted to vomit with the selling feature she threw at me, do I look like everyone else who wants to look like Kim Kardashian??? I know that every alledged male thinks she’s hot-but I am not dressing for those men but rather myself. Perhaps I have a little of Mr. Fords narcissism in me too when it comes to fashion.
In conclusion, I suppose that all artists rebel at some point in their career, fighting the system that helped them soar to new heights. They wouldn’t be artists if they weren’t constantly pushing the envelope in mainstream society, although not entirely original, as any publicity good or bad is still good publicity. This is the key. His collection will surely sell out before it even hits the average/mediocre people so Mr. Ford won’t have to worry.
