How Did Tom Ford Become Successful?

Tom Ford was born in 1961 in Austin, Texas. In 1979 he moved to New York to study a History in Art Degree at New York University. While studying in New York, he learnt what the fashion industry had to offer for him. Ford decided to drop out of University and moved to California to have become an actor. He saved money through acting in advertisements and went to Parson''s School of Design to study Architecture but changed to a fashion course swiftly joining the school. Ford was employed by Cathy Hardwick, a fashion designer, upon his graduation from Parson's. In 1988 he was offered a job as design director at Perry Ellis (helmed by Marc Jacobs at the time). His career with Gucci began in 1990 and he moved to Italy. In 1994 he took Dawn Mello's role as creative director for Gucci and made the brand the most successful it had been in a long time and by 1994 Gucci was worth $4.3 billion which made it one of the largest and most luxurious brands worldwide. Gucci Group brought Yves Saint Laurent under his instruction and he became the creative and communications director of the brand alongside his position at Gucci.