This morning, Tom Ford parent company Estée Lauder announced that its current creative director, Peter Hawkings, will be leaving the brand. Hawkings took over for Tom Ford last year after over twenty years of working as the designer’s right hand. A successor has not yet been named, but the brand will show its Spring 2025 collection in its showroom in Milan this September.
Hawkings showed two ready-to-wear collections during his time as creative director. The first paid homage to the house’s founder and the radical, ultra-sexy vision he created at Gucci in the 1990s, while the second included pieces like classic navy peacoats with gold buttons, sinuous sequined dresses, and of course, Ford’s signature, tightly tailored, bodylicious suiting.
Hawkings spent over two decades at Tom Ford. In 2006, he became senior vice president of the label’s menswear collections and was able to grow that business into the enormous success it is today. When Ford decided to retire last year, he sold his namesake label to Estée Lauder Companies, while Italian luxury group Zegna also licensed the label’s fashion business. It’s been widely reported that Zegna aims to increase womenswear sales, which has historically lagged behind Ford’s wildly profitable fragrance, beauty, and eyewear collections.
Whoever steps into the role will have to be strategic with the overall vision for the brand, likely focusing on crafting a new range of It bags that can help propel the women’s collections forward. The luxury market is in a bit of a crisis right now, with prices going through the roof, unstable markets, and vacant—or potentially soon-to-be-vacant—seats at some of the major fashion houses, including Chanel and Givenchy. The game of who goes where and when has been popping off for the last six months, and this latest Tom Ford news adds higher stakes and even more names to the gossip. It’s rough out there right now for designers, and it’s important to remember that Hawkings gave so much of himself to help build one of the most iconic fashion brands of all time. Cheers to him and his next endeavor, and best of luck to all of those currently riding the fashion creative director merry-go-round.
Brooke Bobb is the fashion news director at Harper’s Bazaar, working across print and digital platforms. Previously, she was a senior content editor at Amazon Fashion, and worked at Vogue Runway as senior fashion news writer.
