Peter Hawkings is exiting his role as creative director of Tom Ford, less than a year after taking over from the brand’s eponymous founder. Estée Lauder Companies, which acquired Tom Ford last year, confirmed the news, adding that the spring 2025 collection will still be presented in Milan this September as planned, and a successor is forthcoming.
“I would like to express my gratitude to Peter for his exceptional contributions to Tom Ford from the very beginning,” said Guillaume Jesel, president and CEO of Tom Ford and luxury business development at Estée Lauder, in a statement.
Hawkings has been working with Ford since 1998, when he joined the designer as a menswear design assistant at Gucci before moving his way up to senior men’s designer. He then left Gucci in 2006 to join Ford in the launch of his eponymous brand. At Ford, Hawkings was initially in charge of the design and production of menswear, and eventually became the senior vice president of menswear before taking on creative director last year.
Ford, who presented his last collection for his brand in April 2023 right before Hawkings was named as his replacement, called his successor “an incredibly talented leader with tremendous industry experience.” At the time, Ford added, “his appointment gives me confidence that my commitment to creating fashion products with the highest level of design and quality will continue.”
A look from Hawkings’s Tom Ford debut.
Courtesy of Tom Ford
A look from Hawkings’s Tom Ford debut.
Courtesy of Tom Ford
Hawkings wasn’t the only mix-up at Tom Ford last year. Around the same time as his appointment, the brand also named Lelio Gavazza as the inaugural chief executive officer of Tom Ford Fashion. With these changes, the Ermenegildo Zegna Group—responsible for the fashion side of the Tom Ford brand—said they hoped to propel Tom Ford into one of the top 10 luxury fashion businesses in the world.
In February, Hawkings made his debut for Tom Ford at Milan Fashion Week with a summer 2024 collection that played on many of the house codes associated with the eponymous founder. Hawkings continued the classic Ford look of glamorized sensuality, sending monochrome metallic suits and skin-tight see-through dresses down the runway, citing supermodel Donyale Luna as his inspiration. The collection was met with mixed reviews, with WWD calling it “Tom Ford lite.” It’s possible that with a new hire, Zegna is hoping to push Tom Ford into a new era with an updated identity that can survive outside of the context of its founder.