Tom Ford with A-list fan Rita Wilson at a Tom Ford store opening in Beverly Hills earlier this year

He strides through the room, shaking hands, kissing the cheek of those he knows and, to those he doesn’t, introducing himself by saying simply, “Hi, I’m Tom,” as though there might be any question on the matter in this intimate gathering of 100-plus of the Las Vegas elite. After all, there may be no more highwattage personality in fashion than Tom Ford: designer of clothes that effortlessly straddle the duality of artful luxe and sexually charged energy, dream maker of luscious campaigns, sizzling magazine covers and a hungrily anticipated feature film, 2009’s A Single Man, which garnered both high critical praise and a healthy roster of nominations. It’s nothing less than utterly refreshing to learn, then, that at this September soirée thrown in his honor at his Crystals boutique, Ford is not sequestered in some corner VIP den inaccessible to all but a select few, but rather that he seems to be relishing his role of consummate party host.

Although the boutique had, by sheer coincidence, opened right around the same time as A Single Man, in December 2009, this was Ford’s first opportunity to experience his Crystals space, only his second freestanding store in the US after New York. Why Las Vegas? “The Vegas customer is international, appreciates high quality and fine craftsmanship, and is not afraid to wear some of our stronger, fashion-forward pieces,” Ford says. “It is very important for me to speak to that customer and have a presence here.”

His Las Vegas location originally had opened as a destination for Ford’s menswear and fragrance lines—think of it as the most elegant haberdashery, featuring rows of tailored suits both pristine and precise, as well as leather accessories you are invited to pick up to feel the velvety skins under your hand. A jewel box of a fragrance room awaits in the back, meanwhile, ready to intoxicate with Ford’s heady mix of signature scents, each bearing seductive names like Noir de Noir or Neroli Portofino.

Glamour Sets the Mood
Of course, this all was envisioned in the days prior to the debut of Ford’s women’s ready-to-wear label, a September 2010 launch that offered every bit the ceremony of a high-profile Hollywood premiere. Only 100 invitees watched as A-listers like Beyoncé and Julianne Moore walked not a red carpet on this night, but a dove-gray runway, each wearing Ford’s vision of “a small capsule collection, shown on the women I find most inspirational.” The clothes exquisitely befit each wearer, from a leopard-print gown on Daphne Guinness to a white tuxedo on Lauren Hutton. After six years of the “When will he?” questions, arising every season since Ford’s 2004 departure from Gucci, it was a fashion moment both seminal and triumphant.

It’s notable that Ford, who narrated the presentation, prefers to think of the event not as a room brimming with boldfaced names, but as a return to something he holds dear. “There is a sense of intimacy that has been lost in fashion over the last two decades, and it is important to me, as a designer, to bring that back,” he says.