Tom Ford Fall 2014 Runway Review

The Scene: Suki Waterhouse (who walked in the Burberry Prorsum show) came with her boyfriend Bradley Cooper. James Corden and Julia Carey were also seated front row. Liberty Ross, Karen Elson and Stella Tennant walked in the show.

The Inspiration: “When you go very far one way, you get in a mood to swing back the other way,” the designer told WWD, meaning he was inspired to go more minimalist this season.

The Look: If there’s one look that everyone will remember from Tom Ford’s Fall 2014 collection, it’s the designer’s sparkly number 61 dress, which was a take on the counterfeit Ford football jersey (emblazoned with the designer’s name, the year he was born and the word MOLLY) that Jay Z has been wearing and selling at his concerts for $65. It came in a black and orange version. Unlike what the sparkling dresses may have you thinking, the collection was clean-lined, subtle in its details and black-heavy. While Ford did show animal skin cowboy boots, dyed fur and leopard-on-leopard looks (hello Kate Moss), the collection was very restrained by Ford’s standards and even included nods to sportswear in the form of hooded sweaters. Also worth noting was the designer’s prominent use of velvet — everything from boots to long sleeve dresses — a burgeoning trend at the London shows.

The Accessories: Cowboy boots in a variety of fabrics, prints and colors.

The Beauty: Tom Ford’s beauty collection is nothing short of impeccable, so it’s little surprise that the beauty look for the show was spot-on. The designer wanted the models to look like “rock ‘n’ roll girls who looked as if they hadn’t seen the light of day and had slept in their makeup” — if only looking this cool came that easy. Eyes were rimmed with black liner, lips looked bare (though they had Illuminating Highlighting Pen and Lip Lacquer on them) and skin was made porcelain. Hair was side-parted and kept natural.

The Takeaway: An unexpected collection that mixed Ford’s penchant for the opulent with the season’s minimalist and sportswear trends.

All images: IMAXtree