Tom Ford names creative director

Dive Brief:

• Tom Ford has named Haider Ackermann creative director, effective immediately, according to a press release Wednesday.
• Ackerman succeeds Peter Hawkings, who left the creative director role in July after working with the brand in various positions since 2006.
• The designer will assume creative leadership across all of Tom Ford’s fashion categories, including menswear, womenswear, accessories and eyewear, according to the release.

Dive Insight:

Ackermann’s first collection for the brand will debut during Paris Fashion Week in March 2025.

Tom Ford is owned by the Estée Lauder Companies, and the fashion business is licensed to the Ermenegildo Zegna Group. 

In his new role, Ackermann will be based in Paris and report to Guillaume Jesel, Tom Ford president and CEO and luxury business development at the Estée Lauder Companies. He additionally reports to Lelio Gavazza, CEO of Tom Ford Fashion at the Ermenegildo Zegna Group.

Ackermann was just named creative director by Canada Goose in May.

“Haider stands out as one of the world’s most visionary and inspiring talents in fashion,” Jesel said in the release. “He draws on his deep affinity for global culture and the arts to create arresting fashion and memorable emotional connections. He is the ideal steward to usher TOM FORD into the future.”

Zegna acquired the license for Tom Ford menswear in 2006, a year after the label was founded by its namesake, Tom Ford. Zegna expanded this deal to include all Tom Ford fashion, accessories, underwear, fine jewelry, childrenswear, textile and home design after the Estée Lauder acquisition, which was completed in 2023.

In July, the Zegna Group reported a 6% revenue increase, bucking the trend of other luxury companies seeing sharp revenue decreases. The Tom Ford Fashion business in particular helped the group counteract losses at its Thom Browne brand. Tom Ford revenue in the first half of Zegna’s fiscal year grew 4.7% to 148.5 million euros, or about $164.6 million.

Meanwhile, Estée Lauder CEO Fabrizio Freda will step down at the end of the company’s fiscal year, after leading the conglomerate for 16 years.