Tom Ford officially made his debut as head designer of Gucci in 1991 after leaving his role at Perry Ellis America in 1990—a brand whose style left its mark on his early collections through 1994. Together with Dawn Mello and Dominico De Sole, Ford set out to restore the luster of the once-iconic Italian house, which had been tarnished by years of controversy.
When Mello departed in 1994, Ford took the reins as creative director, embracing the role of chief visionary for the label. Gucci’s triumphant return came in 1995, when Ford delivered back-to-back collections that cemented the brand’s status and his own as fashion’s next star, and a force to be reckoned with once more.
“It’s easy to fall back on what you know is safe, but … I wanted to bring the edge back to Gucci that it had had in the Fifties and Sixties,” Ford told WWD at the time, reflecting on what was to come for the brand.
From WWD and the Fairchild Archive, here’s a look back at Tom Ford’s transformative years at Gucci, from 1990-1995.
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Tom Ford for Perry Ellis America Spring 1990 Sportswear Advance
Image Credit: John Aquino/Fairchild Archive Portrait of Tom Ford, 1990.
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Gucci Fall 1991 Ready to Wear Fashion Show
Image Credit: Emanuele Sardella/Fairchild Archive Ariane Mitsuye Koizumi on the runway at Gucci fall 1991 ready to wear fashion show.
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Gucci Fall 1991 Ready to Wear Fashion Show
Image Credit: Emanuelle Sardella/Fairchild Archive Ariane Mitsuye Koizumi at Gucci Fall 1991 ready to wear fashion show.
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Gucci Fall 1995 Menswear Collection Runway Show
Image Credit: Davide Maestri/Fairchild Archive Gucci Fall 1995 menswear runway show.
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Gucci Spring 1992 Ready to Wear Fashion Show
Image Credit: Art Streiber/Fairchild Archive Gail Elliott at Gucci spring 1992 ready to wear runway show.
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Gucci Fall 1992 Ready to Wear Runway Show
Image Credit: Art Streiber/Fairchild Archive Gucci by Tom Ford fall 1992 runway show.
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Gucci Fall 1992 Ready to Wear Runway Show
Image Credit: Art Streiber/Fairchild Archive Model Marpessa Hennink on the runway at Gucci fall 1992 runway show.
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Gucci Spring 1992 Ready to Wear Fashion Show
Image Credit: Art Streiber/Fairchild Archive Gucci spring 1992 runway show.
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Gucci Spring 1992 Ready to Wear Fashion Show
Image Credit: Art Streiber/Fairchild Archive Gucci Spring 1992 runway show.
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Gucci Spring 1992 Ready to Wear Fashion Show
Image Credit: Art Streiber/Fairchild Archive Gucci by Tom Ford Spring 1992 runway show.
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Gucci Spring 1994 Ready to Wear Advance
Image Credit: Fairchild Archive/WWD Gucci spring 1994 Ready to Wear Advance
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Gucci Fall 1994 Ready to Wear Runway Show
Image Credit: Davide Maestri/Fairchild Archive Gucci by Tom Ford fall 1994 runway show.
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Gucci Fall 1994 Ready to Wear Runway Show
Image Credit: Davide Maestri/Fairchild Archive Model Eve Salvail on the runway at Gucci by Tom Ford Fall 1994 fashion show
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Gucci Fall 1995 Menswear Collection Runway Show
Image Credit: Davide Maestri/Fairchild Archive Gucci by Tom Ford fall 1995 menswear collection runway show
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Gucci Fall 1995 Menswear Collection Runway Show
Image Credit: David Maestri/Fairchild Archive Gucci fall 1995 menswear collection runway show.
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Gucci Spring 1995 Ready to Wear Runway Show
Image Credit: David Maestri/Fairchild Archive Model Bridget Hall on the runway at the Gucci by Tom Ford spring 1995 runway show.
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Gucci Spring 1995 Ready to Wear Runway Show
Image Credit: David Maestri/Fairchild Archive Model Stella Tennant on the runway at the Gucci by Tom Ford spring 1995 runway show.
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Gucci Spring 1996 RTW
Image Credit: David Maestri/Fairchild Archive Kate Moss on the runway at Gucci Spring 1996 collection by Tom Ford.
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Gucci Spring 1997 Menswear Collection Runway Show
Image Credit: David Maestri/Fairchild Archive Designer Tom Ford in the Gucci spring 1997 menswear collection runway show finale.