In yet another show leadership change, Peter Hawkings is parting ways with Tom Ford after just a year as creative director. Estée Lauder, which acquired Tom Ford last year for USD $2.8 billion, confirmed the news yesterday, adding that the Spring/Summer 2025 show will go ahead in Milan this September as planned.
“I would like to express my gratitude to Peter for his exceptional contributions to Tom Ford from the very beginning,” wrote Guillaume Jesel, president and CEO of Tom Ford and luxury business development at Estée Lauder, in a statement.
Hawkings, a Central Saint Martins graduate, has been working with the legendary Tom Ford since 1998, working his way up from a menswear design assistant at Gucci to Ford’s right-hand man when he launched his eponymous label in 2006. During his time at Tom Ford, Hawkings led menswear before being named Ford’s successor last year upon his ‘retirement’ from fashion.
“In Peter Hawkings, the brand has found the perfect Creative Director,” Ford wrote in a statement last April. “Since the creation of Tom Ford menswear, Peter has been instrumental in the success of the brand. He is an incredibly talented leader with tremendous industry experience, and his appointment gives me confidence that my commitment to creating fashion products with the highest level of design and quality will continue.”
In February of 2024, Hawkings made his solo debut for Tom Ford at Milan Fashion Week with a Fall/Winter 2024 collection that saw the designer reiterate his mentor’s legacy of sensual glamour. In luxe metallics, defined tailoring and body-centric silhouettes, Hawkings, who cited supermodel Donyale Luna as his muse, established a continuation of codes for the house that received mixed reviews. With a new hire, parent company Zegna, who has a twenty-year license on Tom Ford fashion, may opt to push the Tom Ford brand into a world beyond the shadows of its larger-than-life founder.
This article first appeared on GRAZIA International.
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