Tom Ford and Richard Buckley announce birth of their son

Designer Tom Ford and his partner Richard Buckley have announced the arrival of their first child, Alexander John Buckley Ford, who was born in Los Angeles on 23^rd September 2012. Despite Ford’s secretive nature in terms of his personal life, it seems even he can’t keep this quiet! Ford and his partner of 25 years met in 1986 at the WWD office in New York, just as Ford took the lead at Gucci.

It is believed that their son was born via a surrogate, but in true Tom Ford style, the whole process has been (and probably will be) kept very quiet. In fact, Ford mentioned in an interview last year that Buckley didn’t want children, but if he was to have a child, nobody would know about it until the birth. 

“I always said I wanted to have children. And as I got a little bit older, Richard, who I live with – we’ve been together 24 years – did not want children. And so I decided not to have children. But if I have children, no one will know about it until the child is born. And no one will ever see the child because I certainly wouldn’t use it as a press tool. If I have a child, you won’t notice that I had a child. Maybe you’ll see it when it’s 18, but I will keep it out of the spotlight.”

It must be said that congratulations are in order, both on the addition to their loving family, and for managing to keep those pesky paps off the scent!

In the meantime, Tom Ford’s SS13 ready-to-wear collection has exploded into our midst in the form of a video released by the Tom Ford team on Monday. This change in tactic makes a nice alternative to Ford’s preferred private viewings and careful withholding of press photographs, but perhaps it brings us to the end of an era of privacy. With modern technology, it is difficult to keep anything a secret for long, even for the likes of Tom Ford. 

As usual, there is little disappointment. The collection is bold, bright and beautiful, with a huge array of shapes, textures and styles, but somehow falling under one theme despite its diversity. It’s seductive yet elegant, or as Ford calls it, “the chastity vs. perversion” collection. It seems to take a lot of inspiration from the popular Fifty Shades of Grey collection, as he has taken elements of bondage and S&M and has combined them with some more reserved and classic pieces. 

Elizabeth Finney

Check out the collection for yourself here