NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 14: A model walks the runway at the Tom Ford fashion show during New York Fashion Week: The Shows at Skylight on Vesey on September 14, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by JP Yim/Getty Images for NYFW: The Shows)

Much has been written about fashion’s return to all things sex appeal—though if you’re looking for a masterclass in sexy done right, you never have to look much further than Tom Ford. The father of modern sex appeal, starting with his tenure at Yves Saint Laurent and reaching fever pitch during his legendary years at Gucci, Ford has always possessed an unparalleled ability to make leggy, ab-baring displays feel chic, even elegant. For his eponymous label’s Spring/Summer 2023 collection, which closed out New York Fashion Week with lashings of glamour, it was no different.

Ford brought together a formidable front row—Madonna, Erykah Badu, Nicole Richie, Chris Rock, Ciara, and Lori Harvey—to show a collection that was unapologetically OTT. It was an explosion of leather, lurex, and sequins: skimpy bralettes worn with low-slung leather trousers, cascading sequin gowns with thigh-high splits and risquè cut-outs (hi, Bella and Gigi Hadid), sheer lace lingerie turned daywear courtesy of oversized leather and crocodile skin jackets. It was disappointing not to see body diversity on the runway—Ford’s brand of sexiness suits a broader range of body sizes than was shown—but this is a criticism that could be levelled at many other designers this season.

It also appeared that Ford had been bitten, along with the rest of the world, by Elvis fever following Baz Luhrmann’s buzzy biopic. Pink metallic and gold lamè blazers were affixed with big statement lapels, and little rompers were embellished with cowboy-style smatterings of embroidered flowers. For the menswear looks, hair was slicked back into an artful coif that clearly referenced Austin Butler’s much hyped turn as the king of rock and roll.

But it was another decade, the 1980s, that most appeared to have most taken Ford’s fancy. The soundtrack was a high-energy medley of hits by Robert Palmer (‘Addicted to Love’), A-Ha (‘Take on Me’), and Queen (a poignant show closer, ‘Time Waits For No One’). It’s true that the flashy opulence of that era blends nicely with the maximalist mood of current fashion. When the world is in a ‘more is more’ mood, they tend to turn to Tom Ford.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 14: A model walks the runway at the Tom Ford fashion show during New York Fashion Week: The Shows at Skylight on Vesey on September 14, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by JP Yim/Getty Images for NYFW: The Shows)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 14: Gigi Hadid walks the runway at the Tom Ford fashion show during New York Fashion Week: The Shows at Skylight on Vesey on September 14, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by JP Yim/Getty Images for NYFW: The Shows)