Tom Ford has left Tom Ford

After thirteen years at the helm of his namesake brand, Tom Ford is ready to exit the scene. The news comes with the launch of his latest collection, a retrospective of the designer's archive featuring some of his most iconic garments accompanied by Ford's muses Amber Valetta, Joan Smalls, Karlie Kloss, Karen Elson, and Caroline Trentini, all immortalized by Steven Klein. The news of a farewell from the American designer does not come as a surprise but rather follows by a few months after the acquisition of the brand by Estée Lauder for about $2.3 billion last November when we reported to you that Ford would still remain at the helm of the brand until early 2023.

Although there is still no official announcement for his successor, some rumors would point to Peter Hawkings, former menswear design director, as the leading candidate to take the reins of the brand. In the meantime, Estèe Lauder has taken over all of Ford's licenses for the production of the brand's collections, confirming the eyewear one with Marcolin SpA and further extending the production and distribution one with the Zegna Group, which will now take over the entire Tom Ford production chain, from underwear to women's and men's collections to accessories and jewelry.

Throughout his career, Tom Ford has helped define the very meaning of luxury in fashion, not only through clothes but also through the very image created around them. A true architect of Gucci's renaissance, the American designer never limited himself to fashion, bringing his vision to the silver screen as well with films that conveyed all his elegance and style. And after as cinematic an exit as ever, who knows if this might be the time for Ford to make a comeback behind the camera.