Ford's 2009 directing debut, "A Single Man," was no lark. He's back with "Nocturnal Animals," a moody drama that stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Amy Adams.
Tom Ford reveals a 'more private' side with 'Nocturnal Animals'
Tom Ford is famous for designing clothes, but he’s also stitching together an impressive filmmaking career.
Ford has been the creative director at Gucci and Yves St. Laurent, and is considered among the most influential and successful modern American designers. His new line of clothes has been worn by Michele Obama, Beyoncé, Daniel Craig and Ryan Gosling, among many others.
In 2009, Ford moved from fashion to filmmaking with “A Single Man,” which starred Colin Firth and Julianne Moore. Now, Ford is back in theaters with “Nocturnal Animals.”
Written and directed by Ford, the movie stars Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Shannon. It’s adapted from the Austin Wright novel, “Tony and Susan,” and looks at how a fractured relationship leads to a tale of revenge.
The Frame’s John Horn spoke with Ford about how he reveals his personal life through film, why he thinks he’s too cynical to be an artist, and the difference between expressing himself through fashion and film.
INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS
On how filmmaking is a “purely artistic expression”:
[Amy Adams’ character] says, "I think I'm too cynical to become an artist." That's something that I can identify with. However, filmmaking for me is the closest I've ever come to a purely artistic expression. I am a commercial fashion designer. In fashion, I am probably too cynical. Cynical maybe isn't the right word — practical. If I design something and it works very well, I think, Well, why not chop it into four and sell it four times? I don't mean that literally. You can't chop a jacket into four, but you can clone it, you can do it again.
For me, fashion is a very artistic endeavor. It's something that I love, but it's a commercial endeavor, it's a business. Filmmaking for me, while I hope that my films will do well, that's not my primary goal in making them, it's really expression.
On showing a more private side through his films:
I've long struggled with two sides of my nature. One is that we are material creatures, we live in the material world. When you look good, you feel better about yourself. As we age you can always look down at a brand new, shiny pair of shoes, which make you feel maybe not quite so old. So fashion is something I love. And what I do in fashion is an extension of one part of my being, of who I am.
However, I think I probably keep a very private part of myself that I don't necessarily show the world through the fashion. That's what filmmaking addresses for me. It's really the side of my life that is more spiritual, more connected to the people in my life, and is a part of my life that only close friends see.
On his style as a filmmaker:
If you had asked me after the first film, What is your style as a filmmaker? I don't think I could have answered that. Now, after looking at two films, I think, Okay, well, I'm starting to see my style as a filmmaker, because I act intuitively.
So I'll look at a frame and say, Let's move that over there, and let's put that there, and that color is driving me crazy. Get rid of it. And then you make all of these decisions and then ultimately, you look at it, and you realize, Ah, I like enhanced reality.
On how film has influenced his fashion and personal life:
I grew up in Texas, and mostly in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In most old Hollywood movies, it's usually a story about someone who somehow gets rich, and then they have a beautiful apartment and they've become, all of a sudden, beautiful, and they live this glamorous life. I dreamt of escaping and moving to New York the moment I could, and setting out to have this life.
Maybe I've lived even more in film. I live partially in Los Angeles and I love it. I love contemporary Los Angeles, but I also love the Los Angeles of the past that probably didn't even exist — the Los Angeles of the movies, which was all fantasy.
Most fashion designers know a lot about film because we mine films. I have built collections of [Rainer Werner] Fassbinder, I have built collections on "The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant." I have built collections on a movie which was very inspirational for me for this film, Peter Bogdanovich's "The Last Picture Show," in terms of capturing that sort of mood.
As a fashion designer, we have a good sense of film history. Aside from that, I love films. I consume film.
Tom Ford's new film, "Nocturnal Animals," is currently in theaters.