Barely a year into his tenure, Mr Ford’s successor decides to leave

Another departure shocker. Peter Hawkings is taking leave of his creative director post at Tom Ford. The news has been raging on social media. Although Mr Hawkings has only one collection under his belt, he has been with Tom Ford for nearly two decades (before that, he oversaw the GUCCI menswear line when the brand was designed by Mr Ford), totaling 25 with the man who also made movies. Named as successor in just 48 hours after Mr Ford showed his final collection back in early 2023, Mr Hawkings was widely thought to be the right person to continue to preserve the Tom Ford name and legacy. Before his debut for Tom Ford last September, he told Vogue, “I honestly never, ever thought that Tom would ever sell. I thought he would be one of the Ralph Laurens of the world and continue and continue.” No one thought he would not go on.

After the sale of his company for a not unimpressive US$2.8 billion to skincare giant Estée Lauder Companies ELC, Mr Ford seemingly distanced himself from the brand he founded. But, he was all praise for his successor’s unsurprising appointment, telling the media then: “In Peter Hawkings, the brand has found the perfect creative director.” For some people, “perfect” could be a curse. No explanation has been given to the sudden departure. Mr Hawkings has done a convincing job in prolonging the Tom Ford aesthetic and the founder’s unceasing fascination with the ’70s. American celebrities appeared to still love the brand. Reportedly, the upcoming September show will be staged as planned, and a successor would be announced—no time frame was given.

Guillaume Jesel, president and CEO of Tom Ford and luxury business development at ELC said through an amicable statement, betraying no discord between the two parties, “I would like to express my gratitude to Peter for his exceptional contributions to Tom Ford from the very beginning.” There was no mention of the collection under Mr Hawkings’s watch or how it fared. The designer has yet to comment on his departure, said to be in September. Mr Jesel added, “along with his team, Peter has contributed to this important initial phase of development.” Could it really be that Mr Hawkings was appointed to see the brand through during this “initial phase”, post-Tom Ford? Brands installing an interim designer, while not that rare, is uncommon (John Galliano at Givenchy in 1985 comes to mind), but in these troubled times of luxury fashion, a secure appointment is not a guarantee.

Screen shot: tomford/YouTube