Fashion round-up – 9 October 2012

Alexander John Buckley Ford. No, not a new Downton Abbey character, but a baby. Just in case you thought Tom Ford wasn’t busy enough, the designer now has a new role. Not content with just being a designer, or a director, he is now a parent along with his partner of twenty-five years, Richard Buckley. The baby was born via a surrogate mother in Los Angeles on September 23.

Ford was recently interviewed and asked about parenthood, he stated: ‘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.’

One thing is for sure, the new addition to the family will be impeccably dressed having this stylish duo as parents; Buckley was once editor-in-chief of Vogue Hommes International. We think Suri Cruise had better make wardrobe choices a little more carefully from now on.

Always one to have its finger right on fashion’s pulse, Topman has launched a premium suiting line. Arriving in store at the end of October, the collection consists of suits in classic Prince of Wales check and luxurious wool, as well as classic black-tie styles. With jackets at £170 and trousers at £70, the line is a great way to get the Savile Row look at an affordable price.

Also in the tailoring world, Alexander McQueen is set to open its first stand-alone men’s store on London’s Savile Row this Autumn. This follows on from the opening of the brand’s McQ store in September this year. Tailoring has always been at the heart of the Alexander McQueen label, and Savile Row is where a young Lee McQueen started at tailors Anderson and Sheppard, then Gieves and Hawkes. With McQueen’s humble background in East London, it seems appropriate that the store will offer training to young tailors. They will be able to perfect their craft under the direction of qualified and experienced McQueen tailors.

Of the store opening, Sarah Burton, Creative director of Alexander McQueen told GQ magazine ’Tailoring has always been at the heart of McQueen. Even when Lee was alive, he always wanted to open a shop on Savile Row. So it is amazing to be back where he started and it feels very exciting. We are a very British brand and these are our roots – Lee was so British and was very proud of the fact – so it feels right to be part of this great British tradition.’

France’s number one, and the world’s fourth, richest man, Bernard Arnault is set to receive a knighthood from the Queen. The CEO and chairman of luxury group LVMH – that’s Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy to use its full name – is to be knighted at the British embassy in Paris. Monsieur Arnault will be made Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. The businessman has dedicated many years to the international fashion industry. LVMH is part owner of many British labels including shirt maker Thomas Pink. The most recent Louis Vuitton show at Paris fashion week received much praise for its Sixties theme, as well as its use of the house’s signature damier-print pattern on clothing, rather than luggage as is usually the case.

There wasn’t praise at every show during Paris Fashion Week. New boy at Christian Dior, Hedi Slimane, managed to upset a lot of the world’s fashion press by refusing entry to many journalists and sitting celebrities front row, instead of buyers and editors. An open letter in The Times to Slimane from Laura Craik, its fashion editor, heavily criticised the choices he made, as well as his directions on how the show should be reported on.

Another writer similarly annoyed by the French designer was Cathy Horyn of The New York Times, who slammed the show in her review. Hedi Slimane responded with some angry tweets, including ‘What is a ‘silly nonsense’ to me is Cathy Horyn still singing her tired bias tune for the NYT. This is an embarrassment for the newspaper’. Even the big guns at Vogue were aware and slightly miffed at the situation. Editor in chief of British Vogue, Alexandra Shulman, also taking to Twitter, expressed: ‘@YSL fallout an example of what happens when you try to overly control the media. Generally everyone is more generous to first collections’. Hopefully when Saint Laurent débuts its menswear at Paris Fashion Week in January, everyone will have calmed down. We will however, be taking a saucer and some milk just in case. Meow!