You've read about the Aston Martin mishaps and the Tom Ford tailoring; now Sony has released the trailer for Quantum of Solace, the new James Bond flick premiering this fall. Daniel Craig stylishly reprises his role as 007 in what looks to be an action-packed installment of the classic series, with Olga Kurylenko and Gemma Arterton doing the Bond Girl honors.
In the flick based on a 1959 Ian Fleming short story, Bond sets out to seek revenge for the death of Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) from Casino Royale. Craig has said filming Quantum was much more physically demanding that Casino, and he has suffered some injuries along the way. See the trailer here and check out the gallery for production pix.
Brad Pitt obviously knows when he's on to a good thing. We're not referring to Angelina Jolie in fact, but rather Tom Ford. Wearing head to toe Tom made Pitt one of the most stylish stars at last year's Cannes Film Festival - actually, make that any year - so it's no surprise he's back this season sporting more of the designer's dapper duds.
Last week Pitt wore a classic made-to-measure Ford black two piece notch lapel wool suit with a white shirt and solid black silk jacquard tie to the Kung Fu Panda premiere. And on Tuesday he upped the ante with an ultra-elegant made-to-measure black mohair blend single breasted peak lapel tuxedo, black silk moiré bowtie, and 18K white gold and diamond shirt studs and cufflinks from Ford's menswear collection to the Changeling premiere. That's what we call stealing the show.
At the Metropolitan Museum's star-studded Costume Institute Gala in Manhattan the other night, all the best-dressed men wore tuxedos by Tom Ford. While some fellows got creative with their black tie and others simply looked boring in notched lapel numbers, those who sported Ford's threads -- including Gisele Bundchen's football star beau Tom Brady, actors Djimon Hounsou and Jimmy Fallon, and A-list shoe designer Christian Louboutin -- were the evening's standouts.
Ford himself (pictured here with actress Natasha Richardson) went with a classic double-breasted dinner jacket with grosgrain lapels. Brady, Fallon and Louboutin all wore Ford's signature single-breasted peak lapel style; Brady and Fallon went the extra mile with matching waistcoats. Hounsou wore a black three-piece wool and cashmere suit which was equally elegant, as you'll see in the gallery below. Ford's suits start at about $5,000.
It's a match made in commerce heaven: Russians on the quest for the latest in expensive goods and a man who lives to provide old-fashioned luxury updated with modern kinks. Tom Ford, the designer who sexed up Gucci and then moved on to his own line of luxury goods for men, is planning to open two new stores in Moscow next year. Bloomberg reports that Ford and franchisee Mercury Group plan to offer Ford's line of $5,000 custom- made men's suits as well as items for the local market such as sable hats. The stores will be located in Tretyakovsky Passage, a city-center lane of boutiques, and Barvikha Village on the capital's fringe. The Bloomberg article contains some classic Tom quotes including his assertion that Russians have been denied nice things for years. Only Tom Ford could make selling high-priced luxury goods sound like an altruistic gesture.
Fashion designer Tom Ford's road to tranquility in New Mexico has been anything but smooth. A couple of years ago he had to fight for approval to build his Santa Fe home. Now he has bought mineral rights beneath his Galisteo ranch in order to protect his land from possible oil exploration in the region. Ford paid $84,000 for the rights on his more than 1,400 acres of land. In the region the state maintains the rights to sell leases to energy companies. Ford's team tried to persuade the Land Office not to sell oil and gas leases to Tecton Energy, a company which plans to drill eight exploratory wells on 65,000 acres, or 101 square miles, in the Galisteo Basin. The agency however is charged with using the state trust land revenues to help fund public education. Ford's attorney, Janet McKay offered this quote to the press: "We are protecting our land by holding these rights." Ford's ranch is home to a working cattle ranch and an Old West movie set that has been used for several films, including "3:10 to Yuma."
Earlier this month the Tom Ford New York store opened its doors for the first time, located on Madison Avenue. Tom Ford himself was present giving personal tours of the 1930's inspired shop full of not only the designer's menswear creations but also decor from his own collections, such as beaver-skin rugs and Lucio Fontana artwork. According to Tom the store's appeal will be based on "exceptional service and immaculate clothes." Other features available to you while you shop include the fact that everything is customizable (from clothes to fragrances), a wet bar, and if you get hungry during your appointment? Well there's lunch delivered by a maid or butler.
For the past year or so, size ruled over sense when it came to sunglasses, evidenced by the plethora of celebrities wearing glasses that covered up more than half of their faces. In the coming months, we'll still see large sunglasses, but designers are making their glasses more refined than before, adding style to size for some great new looks, like Tom Ford's Elizabeth Sunglasses. These glasses have thick, rounded plastic frames with metallic accents and graduated lenses. The Tom Ford logo appears on both arms and on one of the lenses in a golden print. The glasses are available in black, brown (pictured) and cream. Price: $450.
When Tom Ford first partnered up with Estee Lauder I had my doubts. The king of sexy fashion teaming up with a makeup line headed toward a bit of a dowager image didn't seem like a natural fit. I stand corrected. Ford has managed to turn the old product lines of Youth Dew and Azurée hot again. While Azurée is a summery beachy line with coral tones, the new Youth Dew Amber Nude makeup line for fall is warmer with a touch of gold in the makeup for a gilded look. The look stresses a neutral mouth with a dark and dramatic eye. The Minaudiere limited edition comes with The Face and The Lip Polish and sells for $550.
We've been following the story of Tom Ford's New
Mexico house with interest. Now that he has finally gotten approval to build the
house, he hasn't wasted any time. For the truly Tom-obsessed you can follow along as the house goes up with a
webcam at the Santa Fe Review. So far all that's going on is the use of a giant
crane to plant piñon trees but the operator of the webcam will soon be getting a telephoto lens to document the
house as it rises.
Another day, another addition to the Tom Ford empire. Since
splitting with Gucci, Ford has done a fragrance deal with Estee Lauder and put out his own sunglasses out with
Marcolin. Now he is partnering with Ermenegildo Zegna to create
apparel, shoes and accessories for his
own fashion house. Ford's partner-in-fashion from the Gucci days, Domenico De Sole is a director at Zegna so the
alliance is not a big surprise. Between the designing, the work on Vanity Fair, and the house in New Mexico, I'm
beginning to think Ford must have cloned himself in order to get all these projects done.
A Socialite's Life
has the scoop on the next Tom Ford fragrance. As we've mentioned before, Ford has worked on the Youth Dew Amber Nude and the new version of Azuree.
According to Miu, who received a reader tip, the new fragrance is Tom Ford Black Orchid. Given Ford's propensity for
heady scents this seems like a good fit. I'm definitely thinking this will be a very lush and heavy floral doing its
best to be sexy in a bottle.
Looks like Tom Ford will be getting his New Mexico palace after all. The Free New Mexican reports that Ford's plans for a
14,000-square-foot home on an east-side hilltop have passed the Historic Design Review Board by a 5-1 vote late Tuesday
night. Ford, who attended the meeting in his usual chest-hair-flaunting white shirt and dark jacket, is reportedly quite
thrilled although some neighbors are still objecting to the size of the home. Ford has revised the home several times to
make peace with the locals. As a local boy made good as well as a media celebrity, he was probably given a bit more
leeway than others who have come to the area seeking to build a mega manse certainly he has better luck than the
property’s previous owners, Wall Street investor Paul Tierney and his wife, Susan who engaged in a long and
involved fight with neighbors and city officials to try and build a home there.
Tom Ford's latest line for Estee Lauder will have the
same retro-appeal that his first line. WWD reports that the
Azurée collection is done up in that same robin's egg blue that was used in the 1960s and 1970s and features the
same giant gold logo. Are people ready to step back in time? Ford's version of the other Estee classic Youth Dew has been a big seller. The
Ford version of Azurée uses a mix of Tahitian gardenia petals, coconut and orange blossoms for a summery
fragrance meant to conjure up the luxury life on the Mediterranean. The original, launched in 1969, was a citrusy
floral. I can't decide if this look is charmingly retro or a touch too much like the old bottles of perfume found at
garage sales. The proof will be in the scent, which launches in May.
Now, who doesn't love Tom Ford. His Midas touch has permeated so many levels of the luxury industry, his absence
has been hard to bear. Well, he's back. As previously
reported, Tom is working with Estee Lauder on a cosmetics line. He also has a nifty line of sunglasses out as well.
Available at Neiman
Marcus and other fine retailers, the oh-so stylish line features sunglasses named for famous Americans; Kennedy,
Fonda, Farrah. With a twinge of retro/70's glam, these glasses bring high style back to accessories. What celebrity
won't be caught by the pool sporting these bad boys?
On to other Tom Ford news. In a recent article with GQ, Tom stated that he is pursuing a bespoke men's line and hopes to have a store open in
New York by November 2006. Apparently, there is going to be ready-to-wear as well as custom tailoring. Tom wishes his
line to be a "blend between an Italian fashion company and a classic tailor." Here's hoping that Midas
continues his golden reign over global fashion.
You've read about the Aston Martin mishaps and the Tom Ford tailoring; now Sony has released the trailer for Quantum of Solace, the new James Bond flick premiering this fall. Daniel Craig stylishly reprises his role as 007 in what looks to be an action-packed installment of the classic series, with Olga Kurylenko and Gemma Arterton doing the Bond Girl honors.
Brad Pitt obviously knows when he's on to a good thing. We're not referring to Angelina Jolie in fact, but rather 
For the past year or so, size ruled over sense when it came to sunglasses, evidenced by the plethora of celebrities wearing glasses that covered up more than half of their faces. In the coming months, we'll still see large sunglasses, but designers are making their glasses more refined than before, adding style to size for some great new looks, like Tom Ford's 
When Tom Ford first partnered up with Estee Lauder I had my doubts. The king of sexy fashion teaming up with a makeup line headed toward a bit of a dowager image didn't seem like a natural fit. I stand corrected. Ford has managed to turn the old product lines of Youth Dew and Azurée hot again. While Azurée is a summery beachy line with coral tones, the new Youth Dew Amber Nude makeup line for fall is warmer with a touch of gold in the makeup for a gilded look. The look stresses a neutral mouth with a dark and dramatic eye. T
