Where some are looking forward to a time of forgetting the pandemic ever existed, Tom Ford moves with the approach of adapting couture to a stay-at-home lifestyle. Their new Autumn/Winter 2021 collection features a simplified version of extravagant finishes and worked materials. 

“The slight deconstruction of luxurious pieces is something that I feel will be a legacy of the pandemic for a few seasons to come. A more casual way to be extravagant. With tailoring, I found myself streamlining and making things sharper,” says Ford. 

The womenswear collection features that approach significantly, taking couture pieces and turning them into lace tops, dresses, and leather jackets, paired with tight leggings, short skirts, and cashmere underwear. As big as the top half goes, with oversized mohair knitwear and large jackets, the bottom half goes equally small, creating a comforting contrast.

While the majority of the lookbook is bathed in blacks, hues of cobalt, lilac, sugar pink, and sunflower yellow peek their way through, in addition to pops of neon and animal print. “Color is something that I have been drawn to more and more since moving to LA a few years ago from a colder, more serious London,” Ford says.

It’s in the menswear collection that the colors really come alive, however, with ebonies, warm browns, acid yellow, turquoise, violet, and dusty pink all being part of the collection. Pajamas and robes in bold colors and patterns are the clear nod to the continuing need to stay at home while being able to embrace luxury.

The menswear collection takes greater cues from fashion statements of the 60s and 80s, along with the signature Tom Ford aesthetic choice: a well-tailored suit. “I love that I don’t have to think when I get dressed, that the jacket matches the pant,” Ford says. “Suits can be an armor, but they can also make daily activities seem like an event.” 

The collection features silk jacquard jackets in animal and metallic prints and bright colors. Puffer coats, bleach-wash jeans, military coats, and 60s style loafers are some of the prominent parts of the essential Tom Ford AW21 look.

Ford’s newest collections adopt a ready-to-wear style that tries to join hands with the situation we’re in, acknowledging that we may be reduced to a pandemic lifestyle for a while longer and we might as well see our fashion evolve to it while still remaining editorial and luxurious. You can find the entirety of Tom Ford’s new Autumn/Winter 2021 Menswear and Womenswear collections on their website.