Tom Ford’s glittering crystal slippers are made for staying out long after midnight
A crystal slipper might traditionally come with a midnight curfew, but when it comes to Tom Ford there are no such rules – whether at his eponymous label, or at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent before, the Tom Ford woman has always come to life after-hours. (She is, after all – to borrow the name of a recent fragrance by the designer – Fucking Fabulous.)
That said, his Autumn/Winter 2019 collection – of which these crystal peep-toe platforms, alongside various jewel-toned iterations, were a part – saw the designer temper his usual no-holds-barred glamour. If only somewhat: “I’ve never really been a designer who’s talked about a moment in time, how that’s influenced what I design. But you can’t escape the news,” Ford said at the time. “I feel frustrated and agitated and exhausted. And I don’t want to wear anything particularly challenging or anything particularly aggressive.” And so there were slouchy silk trousers, in berry and emerald and ruby, nipped-waist velvet jackets, roll-neck sweaters, leather puffer jackets – even the ubiquitous hoodie made an appearance (albeit worn with a perfectly cut, wide-shouldered satin trench).
But, if all of this marked an exercise in restraint for the designer – a man who waged sexual revolution at Gucci and is synonymous with the hedonistic glamour of the early aughts – then the footwear was proof he’s not going soft. The opposite: sky-high, and encrusted with 18,500 crystal rhinestones, these are heels made for going – and staying – out.
Hair: Kei Takano using Bumble and Bumble. Make-up: Fiona Gallagher. Model: Tao Quan at Wilhelmina. Casting: Julia Gilmour.