Fashion most demanding industry in the world: Ford

Baz Luhrmann toasts Anna Wintour’s 25 years at Vogue.

Tom Ford’s key note address at the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Dinner was filled with insightful and amusing advice to designers everywhere, reports Women’s Wear Daily. “Never sell a controlling interest in your name, ever,” the designer told the crowd at New York’s Spring Studios.

“If a potential investor has a wife or daughter who just loves fashion and can’t wait to come in and talk to you about the collection, run,” he said. “If your president or chief executive officer think they know the difference between dark burgundy and aubergine, fire them. If your brand is to have a strong identity, it must come from you.”

He lamented the breakneck and unforgiving nature of the global fashion industry, in his unique, self-deprecating manner.  “We have to have genius creative thoughts precisely four times a year and on exact dates. I actually write them on my calendar. ‘Friday, November 8. Three o’clock. Have a genius creative idea’,” he adds. “There is no other industry in the world that is so demanding and expects so much of its talent. And God forbid those genius creative thoughts don’t happen for a few seasons, then you get to read about how you’re slipping, how the momentum is over and you have lost it.”

The attendees at the event were no strangers to the unrelenting pace of the industry. The crowd, included CFDA President Diane von Furstenberg, Valentino Garavani, Giancarlo Giammetti, Vera Wang, and previous CFDA/Vogue Award winners Joseph Altuzarra, Proenza Schouler’s Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, Francisco Costa, and Alexander Wang. Joining their ranks this year were Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne of menswear line Public School, who beat out the competition to receive the honour for this year. The award comes with a $300,000 cash prize to invest in their line and a year-long mentorship with a fashion industry veteran.

The gala also marked the 10-year anniversary of the event. Since its inception in 2004, to aid an industry suffering in a struggling economy, the programme has given out $3.8 million in grants to 30 emerging designers and brands.

Just before the winners and runners-up for this year were revealed, Baz Luhrmann took to the podium to toast Wintour for her 25 years at Vogue. It came replete with a video he directed that featured the likes of Harvey Weinstein, Nicole Kidman, Oscar de la Renta and Michael Kors.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 14^th, 2013.

Like Life & Style on Facebook, follow @ETLifeandStyle on Twitter for the latest in fashion, gossip and entertainment.