Could you imagine what it would be like to have Tom Ford back at Gucci? Page Six reports (with a degree of skepticism) that the designer is on the shortlist to replace Frida Giannini, who officially left the label almost a month before she was due to depart. For now, this seems to be little more than a rumor. After all, Ford has a very successful brand of his own, which he started in 2005 after his departure from Gucci. Now said to be worth about a billion dollars, Tom Ford the brand has become something of a powerhouse with men’s, women’s, beauty, eyewear, grooming, kids, jewelry, fragrance and leather goods categories. That’s quite a full plate.
Ford’s presence at Gucci as creative director between 1994 and 2004 was deemed something of a boon for the label. By the time the designer departed, however, he and parent company PPR (now Kering) had something of a troubled relationship regarding control of the company. “By the end of Gucci, I was drinking too much, I had no life, I wasn’t very nice,” he said of his departure. After such a difficult breakup, would Ford be willing to go back down that road?
While the return of Ford could be amazing for Gucci, something tells us a different designer will ultimately get the job.
UPDATE: A spokesperson for Tom Ford just denied to Style.com that the designer would return to Gucci – so there goes that fantasy.
[via Page Six]
