He is Back: Haider Ackermann is Named Creative Director of Tom Ford

It’s official, Haider Ackermann is back in the big fashion game. The news of his nomination for the new creative director role at Tom Ford dropped Wednesday afternoon following weeks of speculations about who would succeed Peter Hawkings in this prestigious role. Here is everything you need to know about this breaking news and what it means for the industry.

WHY NOW?

It was early morning in the US when the news broke out. Tom Ford is an American fashion company, bought recently by the nation’s biggest beauty corporation, Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (the deal was sealed in November 2022 for $2,8 billion). So it seemed only natural to schedule the announcement for the first day of the busy New York Fashion Week, ahead of all the shows and, more particularly, Milan Fashion Week where the brand will be presenting its collection designed by the studio in the format of the presentation instead of a show. Haider Ackermann’s first collection for Tom Ford will be presented in March in Paris, where the designer and his teams will be based.

WHY ACKERMANN?

Haider Ackermann is a fashion star. The Colombian-born French designer graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp and rose to the status of fashion royalty with his namesake brand, full of sleek and elegant evening wear and poetic tailoring pieces. Ackermann later became the creative director of Berluti, but abruptly left his position following three successful seasons. After several short stints at Maison Ullens, Fila and most recently at Canada Goose (TBC if he continues to perform his duties of creative director after his nomination at Tom Ford) and a critically acclaimed couture collection for Jean Paul Gaultier, he is back to what he does best: gorgeous clothes for everyday life and special occasions. And where there is Ackermann, there are also his celebrity friends, such as Tilda Swinton, Lou Doillon, Daphne Guinness, Catherine Deneuve, and Thimothée Clalomet. Probably, future brand ambassadors.  

HOW DID TOM FORD REACT?

According to the official press statement, Mister Ford is happy to greet Ackermann in his fashion house and can’t wait to see the new chapter written by the new “Number One”: “I have long been a great fan of Haider’s work. I find both his womenswear and menswear equally compelling. He is an incredible colourist, his tailoring is sharp, and above all he is modern. We share many of the same historical references, and I could not be more excited to see what he does with his brand. I suspect I will be the first on my feet to applaud after his show in March.”

WHAT DID HAIDER SAY?

“It is with tremendous pride that I will seek to honour the legacy of Tom Ford, a man I have long admired and have the utmost respect for. I am very much looking forward to what lies ahead,” Hackermann expressed his sentiments in the official statement. In the new role, he will be overseeing womenswear, menswear, accessories, and eyewear, as well as guiding the creative vision for the overall brand. In other words, he will be the leader of the new Tom Ford, managing every aspect of its creative universe.

WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN FOR TOM FORD (THE BRAND)?

Excelling in men’s tailoring, Peter Hawkings was Tom Ford’s “Number Two” for a quarter of a century but lacked a particular vision for womenswear to fit in his shoes. He was also a talent used to the shadows, but put into the spotlight of a big fashion game. Haider Ackermann is the opposite of this. He is very talented in his own way, has a signature style, and a big media personality. As Tom Ford emphasised: Haider is as good in womenswear as he is in menswear, he masterfully captures the zeitgeist and has a deep understanding of how society evolves: why boys love to be feminine and girls - to be masculine (all of Swinton’s and Chalamet’s looks on the red carpet are a case in point). And even if Ackermann says that he enjoys the quietness of his studio, he always masterfully performs his role on the fronts of fashion, like the house’s founder Tom Ford. It’s a bold move, of course, which comes with a certain risk (you remember, the French designer left Berluti after three seasons, and the departure of Hawkings from Tom Ford was an unforeseen affair), but that could bring the needed publicity and the edge to the brand that gracefully said farewell to its founder (Tom Ford plans to focus on his film director career and his family), who is a star in every meaning of this word.

Text: Lidia Ageeva