Born in Austin, Texas in 1961, Tom Ford enrolled in an art history course at New York University. He then transferred to the Parsons School of Design in New York and Paris, where he studied architecture.  He joined the design studio of Cathy Hardwick in New York, then moved to Perry Ellis as design director two years later.

In 1990, Ford became Womenswear designer at Gucci, moving up to creative director by 1994.  The Gucci Group purchased Yves Saint Laurent in January 2000 and Ford began designing menswear and womenswear for Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche. He was awarded Accessory Designer of the year in 2002.

Ford left the company a year later and created the Tom Ford brand which includes luxury men’s ready-to-wear and made-to-measure clothing, footwear and accessories, in addition to an award-winning eye wear label with the Marcolin Group, and a men’s fragrance and beauty range with Estee Lauder.

He has received numerous industry awards, including four from the prestigious CFDA. He’s also won Elle magazine’s Style Icon Award and GQ’s Man of the Year Award. Tom Ford has directed the films A Single Man and Nocturnal Animals.

Gwyneth Paltrow, in Tom Ford at the Golden Globes

photo: Getty Images