Haider Ackermann Is Already Making His Mark at Tom Ford
The revolving door of creative directors rarely steers the ship steady. In fact, it can often take several seasons before fans, customers, and industry insiders start to embrace the brand’s new direction. Sometimes, however, a new designer’s debut is an instant hit. This is the case for Haider Ackermann’s Tom Ford.
The Colombian-born French designer’s fall/winter 2025 runway show wowed audiences last month at Paris Fashion Week, garnering countless positive reviews and even a standing ovation. (We described the collection as “building a bridge between Tom Ford’s past and its future.”) Alexandra Nourafchan, Tom Ford’s former global director of red carpet and celebrity, echoed the endorsement: “Mr. Ackermann captured and preserved the spirit of Tom Ford, while bringing his own essence to the collection,” she shares. “He nailed it. It is an exciting start to the next chapter.”
A model walks the runway at Tom Ford’s fall/winter 2025 show.
Kind words about a collection aren’t the only indicators of a new creative director’s success, of course. It’s also crucial that the pieces can translate to real life, whether that be celebrity appearances or retail sales. And while the collection won’t hit stores until August, Ackermann seems to have the first benchmark in the bag. “Celebrity stylists left the Paris show and dashed to reserve runway looks—and for many good reasons,” says journalist and TV host Zanna Roberts Rassi. “Strong silhouettes, popping color combos, impeccable tailoring. It’s sexy but not overt and in your face—the sweet spot between masculine and feminine.”
Case in point: less than a week after Paris Fashion Week show, Cate Blanchett was spotted in look 32, a pale pink and neon green suit, for an appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert in New York City. The outfit was secured by Blanchett’s stylist, Elizabeth Stewart, who has nothing but praise for the label and its new designer. “I think both [Ackermann and Ford] truly love and respect women, and it’s evident in their work,” she notes. “It’s special, luxurious, elegant, and sexy, which is why it has so much appeal for the red carpet.”
Cate Blanchett in a Tom Ford look designed by Haider Ackermann.
A few weeks later, actress Michelle Williams wore look 50, an impeccably tailored black tuxedo jacket and matching pants, to promote her Hulu mini series Dying for Sex on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen. And just last week, Gigi Hadid was styled by Elizabeth Sulcer in look 27, a blue button-down shirt and black trousers, for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. When asked about Ackermann’s appeal, Sulcer said, “The allure of Haider Ackermann’s Tom Ford lies in its powerful statement of effortlessly chic dressing. There’s an undeniable simplicity and elegance to his work, which makes his collaboration with Tom Ford all the more powerful and compelling.” An idea that women of all ages, styles, and professions can get behind.
Gigi Hadid wears Tom Ford at The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
But it’s not just celebrities buying into the H.A. hype—signaling that the collection is unlikely to face any challenges at retail, even amid the looming threat of tariffs. “I think it’s safe to say that Haider Ackermann’s debut for Tom Ford struck a collective nerve within the industry in much the same way that Tom Ford’s fall 1995 debut for Gucci struck a nerve 30 years before it,” says Justin Friedman, creator of the beloved Instagram account @tomfordforgucci. “Both collections managed to tap into something that everyone had subconsciously been craving—a really primal need for something seductive, something to lust after, something to tempt us out of the sensible, quiet luxury-dominated malaise we’ve fallen into.”
Perhaps it’s not just the appeal of the pieces themselves, but also the broader message Ackermann is offering in this particular moment. After seasons of monochromatic, oversized suiting, the new Tom Ford feels like a welcome departure. “Just as those jewel-toned satin shirts and velvet hip huggers became the look of 1995, Haider’s intensely colored tailoring and sensual silhouettes just feel incredibly, urgently new,” Friedman adds. “It goes without saying that each celebrity who has been photographed in the collection since it walked the runway last month has looked absolutely jaw-dropping. And isn’t that the idea?”