Tom Ford SS2011: A Singularly Smart Man

There's something to be said for a collection that everyone and his mother wants to see but can't. On top of it there's a lock down on all images and descriptions thanks to a confidentiality agreement. What can I say? It sounds mighty cool. The little that I heard and saw sounded like a very rich and luxurious dish. Fashion is and will always be made up of a bunch of cool kids in the playground with dibs on the swings, teeter totter and even the sandbox whether it's filled with sand or mud. Perhaps, things have gotten a bit too open with all this technology and people busting down the barriers. It seems like Tom Ford took a look at how things are and decided to turn the game around. This controlling of the front door and keeping images of the collection under lock and key has done what all this easy access has failed to do. He's restored an atmosphere of anticipation, excitement and desire. Like debuts of collections in the past, his was an invitation only affair for a very few leaving the rest of us clamoring for a peek. What's really funny is that most will probably site this collection as being the best of the season though no one except 100 people actually saw it. I have a feeling this may start a trend towards smaller, more tightly controlled environments. :It's a game changer that will have an interesting effect that we will have to roll with. Coolness will be a much more competitive game. What I like about this prospect is that it will hopefully be more about quality than quantity. Designers will have to work harder, dig deeper to live up to their new found exclusivity. It's ironic that just when you thought you had a handle on the new rules of the game, they're changed again.