tom (foolery).

Last September, after a six year hiatus, Tom Ford made a highly anticipated return to womenswear with an exclusive showing of his Spring/Summer 2011 collection, inviting only 100 special guests. The runway featured a mixture of models and celebrities, including Beyonce and Julianne Moore, who were transformed into the sensual, confident, modern Tom Ford women. Photography was strictly forbidden, aside from his designated photographer, Terry Richardson. However, these official photos would not be released until the clothes hit stores in 2011. Ford wanted to bring fashion back to the time of exclusivity, before technology and social media rendered the elusive runway invitation obsolete.

Spring/Summer 2011

In a digital age where live streaming of fashion shows has become the new industry standard, Ford's initial determination to fight against this movement was admirable. Last year, in order to create hype around Ford's long awaited return to womenswear, it made sense to keep the show closed, but now that a year has passed, this marketing tactic will not have the same impact it once did. Sacrificing the use of the fashion show as a public marketing tool may have turned out to be a foolish move after all.

Tom Ford showed his new Spring/Summer 2012 collection to a limited group of industry insiders last week, and since then, no photos have been released. Some fashion critics have been less than kind in describing what they saw on the runway. The Guardian's Jess Cartner-Morley said there were "too many frills and too few ideas. Le Figaro's Virginie Mouzat wrote in French that the collection resembled "an out-of-style Gucci collection from ten years ago." Even though the Times' Cathy Horyn and the Telegraph's Lisa Armstrong were positive about the collection, they did not not have much to say due to the lack of photos to base their reviews on. In this situation, the public is unable to judge the collection for themselves, and can only depend on the reviews that they read.

There is no denying the role of social media and technology in building brand power and generating commercial success. I'm not suggesting that Mr. Ford have a lineup of fashion bloggers in the front row next to Anna Wintour and stream the show on tomford.com, but we are in the 21st century. Can we at least have some pictures? Please...?

Check out the articles below about Tom Ford's new collection:

Fashion Critic Dares to Critique Tom Ford - the Cut
Another Critic Pans Tom Ford's Latest Collection - the Cut
London Fashion Week: Tom Ford spring/summer 2012 - Telegraph
London: Tom Town - Times


Images courtesy of vogue.com