Tom Ford. Designer. Photographer. Film maker. American.

Ford was born in Austin, Texas, but spent most of his childhood in Santa Fe, Ford moved to NY to study art history at NYC, but after partying too hard during the Warhol/Studio 54 era, he dropped out and moved to LA. He worked as an actor for a while before moving back to NY to study architecture at Parsons School of Design. Tom Ford then transferred to Parsons' Paris campus, and in his final year of architecture he suddenly decided to switch to fashion. In 1990, Ford moved to Milan to join Gucci as the company's women's wear designer. In 1992, he became design director and in 1994 he was appointed creative director of Gucci. He designed all product lines, and headed all advertising campaigns and store design. In 2000, following the acquisition of Yves Saint Laurent and YSL Beaute by Gucci, Ford took over as creative director of Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche + YSL Beaute. Ford left Gucci in 2004 to then start his own brand, Tom Ford, in a year later with menswear and accessory collections. In 2009, Ford made his first film, A Single Man, starring Colin Firth and Julianne Moore. It was only after seeing this brilliant film that I fully appreciated the genius of Tom Ford. He is one of the most talented, versatile artists of our time. His vision for design and style has no boundaries-his work is both classic and trend-setting.