HADLEY FREEMAN

Tom Ford: is this goodbye for the man who brought sex to fashion?

If the king of ‘porn chic’ is really retiring, his next party won’t be far off
Tom Ford in 2015 with Karlie Kloss, one of the many renowned models
Tom Ford in 2015 with Karlie Kloss, one of the many renowned models
GARETH CATTERMOLE/GETTY IMAGES

“When sex goes out of business, so do we.” So said Tom Ford, the fashion designer, in 2005, in one of the many, many, many comments he made about sex over the course of a transformative decades-long career in the industry, which may finally have ended last week.

Ford probably did more than anyone to bring sexy back into style. One of his most infamous ad campaigns for Gucci, where he worked from 1990 to 2004, featured a woman whose pubic hair had been shaved into the familiar G logo. From 1999 until 2004 he was also the creative director of Yves Saint Laurent, where one of his ad campaigns featured Sophie Dahl, wearing only high heels and jewellery, clutching her breasts and arching her