Tom Ford (b. 1961), the famous fashion designer and director, is known not only for the revival of Gucci, YSL, the launch of his own brand, and collections of perfume and eyewear. He is a collector and lover of exquisite interiors. The real estate empire he created over several decades is valued at $122 million. The collection at various times included houses in London, New York, Los Angeles, and Santa Fe. He completely remodeled some estates to reflect his own unique style, while in others he tried to preserve the historical atmosphere.
Ford studied architecture and interior design at the renowned Parsons School of Design in New York with Bill Sofield, but in his senior year, he abruptly changed direction, starting to look for work in the fashion field. Nevertheless, he embodied his interest in architecture and design in his films and houses (the choice of villas and furniture for filming deserves a separate description). Tom Ford was helped in his search for estates by his late husband Richard Buckley, a fashion journalist. During their 35 years of marriage, they bought and sold many properties, significantly increasing their wealth.
Brown-Sidney House in Los Angeles
For nearly two decades, the famed fashion designer owned the iconic Richard Neutra-designed home in Bel Air. He bought this mid-century modern residence back in 1997 for $2 million and commissioned the renovation to architect John Bethram and Marmol Radziner + Associates. They restored the villa, which became Ford’s main residence. The area of the masterpiece, built in 1955, is about 353 square meters. There are three bedrooms and six bathrooms. Known as the Brown-Sidney House, the structure is designed in the architect’s signature style: strict geometry, clean lines, a combination of steel and glass, and an open floor plan. The house is surrounded by a high wall of hedges and trees. There is also a swimming pool on site.
Townhouse in Chelsea
Ford designed the interiors of this house himself. The London townhouse has become a reference for the designer’s style. An atmosphere of exceptional elegance and chic is created here. The living and dining rooms have gloss black walls, and large windows and French doors overlook immaculately manicured hedges. The walls in the office are made of mahogany. The ultra-modern floating staircase was made white. In one of the bedrooms, silver aluminum finishes on the walls and ceiling create a futuristic effect. The exterior of the house is very traditional, matching the façades of the neighboring houses as the street is within Boltons Nature Reserve. A white building with stucco with an area of about 340 sq. m. was sold in 2020 for $17.5 million. The house passed to the new owner without furniture: Ford took the collection with him.
Halston House in Manhattan
Tom Ford bought the famous Manhattan party venue for $18 million in 2019 after it sat unsold on the market for eight years (its price more than halved during that time). The townhouse, a New York City landmark, was designed by Paul Rudolph, once dean of the Yale School of Architecture. The house has belonged to the famous American fashion designer Roy Halston since 1974. This trendy spot at 101 East 63rd Street on the Upper East Side (or “Building 101”) was well known to the art scene half a century ago, as the cult club Studio 54 was nearby and the crowd came from there. The celebrity guest list included Andy Warhol, Martin Scorsese, and Liza Minnelli.
Ford himself said that one of the reasons for the purchase was the desire to show his son Jack the New York lifestyle: “I love Los Angeles, but I want Jack to be able to wear a jacket properly and go to museums, theaters, and restaurants.” The cultivation of taste required an area of about 700 square meters, nine-meter ceilings, four bedrooms, five bathrooms, three living rooms, two kitchens, a garage, a three-story greenhouse, and a roof terrace.
Bloomingale Estate in Los Angeles
Ford and Buckley bought the residence, which once belonged to the late socialite Betsy Bloomingdale, in 2016 for $38.75 million. It was here that they moved before selling the estate according to Neutra’s design. The home has nine bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a library, an outdoor living room, a pool house, a tennis court, and a rose garden. It also contains several entertainment pavilions where Betsy and her husband Alfred, heir to the Bloomingdale’s department store fortune, hosted parties for the Hollywood elite. The Bloomingdale family bought the house in the 1950s and hired famed decorator Billy Haynes to transform the house from a late 1920s Spanish Colonial into a “glamorous Hollywood Regency-style home.”
Rancho Cerro Pelon in Santa Fe
The architectural and cinematic passions of the fashion designer and director were most clearly embodied in the ranch located in Galisteo outside of Santa Fe. Designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando in 2010, it is a hymn to minimalism, light, and space. The estate spans over 8,300 hectares, and one of its most unusual features is Silverado Film City, an iconic location originally built for the filming of the film of the same name in 1985, which forms part of the property. This is an outstanding place and it was special for Ford. The complex includes stables for eight horses, riding arenas (indoor and outdoor), a swimming pool, a tennis court, two guest houses, housing for ranch staff, and a house for the ranch manager. There is a runway and a hangar for private aircraft. Rounding out the list of extravagant properties is a film set: the movie town was the location for filming scenes for Silverado, Wild Wild West, and All the Pretty Horses, among other Westerns. In 2016, Ford put it up for sale for $75 million.
The most important thing about our X that it is for
those who are in a hurry
