Fashion designer Tom Ford is following in the footsteps of Karl Lagerfeld and Hedi Slimane by shooting the new Tom Ford Spring/Summer 2009 ad campaign himself.
"I have taken pictures for years, but recently have become more serious about it and have started shooting portraits," said Tom Ford. "I have always felt that an advertising image is in a sense the last layer of the design, and so decided this season to just shoot the campaign myself."
Ford explains his photography style in the new Tom Ford SS ‘09 (you can see a preview of three of the ads in the gallery, the last three images).
"Fashion advertising lately has become very complex in terms of production, and I think that often, in these dense, heavily art directed campaigns, that the clothes seem to get lost a bit. I wanted to create clean, straightforward shots of a handsome man in beautifully cut clothes. Simple, clear, and fresh."
Tom Ford is surely stretching his creativity outside the design boundaries. He is also currently directing his first movie, an adaptation of Christopher Isherwood’s 1964 novel, "A Single Man."
While I agree that some ad campaigns can be a bit too complex and not perfectly showcase the clothes, having "straightforward shots of a handsome man in beautifully cut clothes" sounds more like a catalogue or lookbook than a captivating ad campaign. Ad campaigns are important to keep the brand name in the media and in pop culture, not just to showcase the clothes.
See some of Ford’s recent, not so simple, clean and straightforward campaigns below.
Fashion Designers as Photographers
Tom Ford Shoots New SS ‘09 Campaign Himself
Trend Themes
1. Fashion Designers Turned Photographers - Fashion designers are exploring photography as a way to personally capture their brand's aesthetic, creating new opportunities for creative expression and brand alignment.
2. Simplifying Fashion Advertising - Designers are opting for clean and straightforward ad campaigns that focus on showcasing the clothes and the brand's identity, suggesting a potential disruptive shift away from complex, heavily art-directed campaigns.
3. Multidisciplinary Creativity - Fashion designers like Tom Ford are broadening their creative horizons by exploring photography and filmmaking, blurring the boundaries between different artistic fields and introducing innovative storytelling techniques.
Industry Implications
1. Fashion - The fashion industry is witnessing increased experimentation as designers take on the role of photographers, potentially redefining the way fashion advertising is executed.
2. Photography - Photography professionals may find new opportunities for collaboration and mentorship as fashion designers venture into photography, bringing their unique perspectives and aesthetics to the field.
3. Film - The film industry may see more fashion designers like Tom Ford transitioning into filmmaking, adding a fresh and unique approach to storytelling and potentially disrupting traditional film production.