Tom Ford On Why NYFW’s Oscars Conflict Is Taking Him Back To LA

Tom Ford will present his autumn/winter 2020 collection on 7th February in Los Angeles. The designer’s decision to take his show across the coast was born out of the fact that the New York Fashion Week calendar clashes with the Academy Awards. For a man whose brand image leans heavily on Hollywood dressing, it makes sense to follow his celebrity clientele west, rather than lose his front row to La La Land.

“LA is my home and has a strong impact on the way that I live and work within both the fashion and film worlds,” Ford told WWD of the “natural” move. “The last time [the Oscars overlapped with New York Fashion Week] I showed in LA, and it worked quite well. There is an excitement in LA on that particular weekend and the relationship between film and fashion is a strong one.”

Ford’s responsibilities as chairman of the Council of Fashion Designers of America might mean the location switch-up is surprising to some. Upon succeeding Diane von Fürstenberg in the role in March, restructuring and reinvigorating New York Fashion Week was a pressing matter on his agenda. Ford explained that his intent was to take US fashion global. “There is truly no bigger or more prominent stage in the world at any given time than Los Angeles during the Academy Awards,” he said.

When Ford decamped to Hollywood in 2015, the red-carpet king invited some 500 high-profile friends to fete his autumn/winter 2015 offering. Jennifer Lopez, Miley Cyrus, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Gwyneth Paltrow and Fergie all propped up the front row, and 2020 will no doubt be just as starry. Despite CFDA president Steven Kolb’s assertions that “[Ford’s] decision will not impact the official NYFW schedule,” Tinseltown is undeniably a hot ticket away from the eastern fashion showcase.

“Tom Ford has deep ties to Hollywood,” Kolb continued. Indeed, his sideline in directing (he also starred in commercials as a child) meant that he kept a house in Beverly Hills while based in London for 18 years. He moved back across the pond to LA in 2017, and took a regular slot on the New York show schedule for spring/summer 2018. Next season’s venue, which will no doubt be a departure from his spring/summer 2020 show space in the depths of the Bowery Station subway, will be a stone’s throw from his personal base, and all the major hotels the Oscars guests will take residence in.