Estee Lauder looking to acquire Tom Ford!
MikeG77
Posts: 1,778MI6 Agent
So it appears that Estee Lauder is in talks to buy Tom Ford for $3 billion. Obviously good news for Tom Ford but Estee Lauder doesn't deal with men's or women's fashion which is very concerning to me especially with the relationship we have with Luigi at Tom Ford. They're strictly a cosmetics company so maybe they'll spin the clothing brand off but I don't know!
What is everyone's thoughts on this?
I know where you keep your gun!
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I believe they already own the fragrance side of Tom Ford and it's only my opinion but so far that seems to have resulted in flankers, discontinued gems and pretty average releases.
You are correct. They've owned Tom Ford Beauty since 2005 I believe.
Bond: “I must be dreaming.”
Tom Ford was Founded in 2005, so that doesn't seem right. Could Estee Lauder be the manufacturer of TF Beauty products like TF Eyewear is made by Marcolin?
Looks like 2005 was when TF entered into a partnership with EL for a fragrance line. As early as 2017, TF Beauty was owned by EL it seems.
Bond: “I must be dreaming.”
Interesting - had no idea.
So it appears that Estee Lauder is going to buy the rest of Tom Ford for 2.8 billion!
I’ve been reading up on this, and I’m still trying to figure out what exactly this means for the clothing side of the brand. Does anyone have any insight on that particularly?
I was at TF Munich. First consequence Zegna will not produce the MTM suits. Therefore all measurements taking from customers cannot be used anymore. Unclear if this means suits from DC era can still be ordered.
I don't think this is true. The news is that Zegna is acquiring the licence to the fashion brand of Tom Ford, so why would they stop producing the suits?
Even if Zegna didn't produce the suits, Tom Ford use their own suit blocks that could be transferred to another manufacturer there's no reason why anything should have to change. Another high-end factory could make the same exact suits that Zegna are producing for Tom Ford. There are a handful of other factories in the world capable of making these suits.
But there will also be new designs with new creative people at the helm after Tom Ford exits in a year. They won't be using Tom Ford's vision. A new creative direction could discontinue the existing styles in both RTW and MTM. My fear is that without Tom Ford himself at the helm, the signature look of the brand will disappear and the clothes will start following mainstream fashion like almost every suit brand does.
@Matt S I'm in agreement with much of what you said. Except I don't think there will be much of a change in creative vision with the new owners. The value in the clothing brand is in the name and the distinctive "signature look" Ford created. So I think it's likely that we'll see the new owners just regurgiating the same aesthetic for the foreseeable future, with some minor tweaks. Tom Ford won't be designing the clothes, but the owners will want the collections to look like Ford designed them, if you get my meaning. And since Tom Ford the company isn't a design house like LV, Chanel, Dior, etc., I find it highly unlikely that Zegna will go on the hunt for a new, big name head designer to take over and execute a new vision (the way Ford himself did at Gucci).
I also expect we'll see a drop off in quality since Ford himself won't be there to safeguard his creations. When a design house starts being managed by committee, the first thing they'll look at is how to cut corners to bring down costs.