He's Gone Out Of Fashion.(Tom Ford)(Interview)

Byline: Dana Thomas

During the 1990s, Tom Ford was fashion's superstar, making hedonism hip again as he helped turn Gucci from a family-run Italian leather-goods company into a global luxury conglomerate. But in April, after a year of tense negotiations with Gucci Group owners PPR-Pinault Printemps Redoute, Ford quit not only Gucci but fashion. Since packing his designer bags, he's put together a book, "Tom Ford," that covers his 10 years at the company. Now he's set to launch a new career as a movie director. NEWSWEEK's Dana Thomas lunched with the suave 43-year-old Texan in Beverly Hills last week. Excerpts:

THOMAS: It's been six months since you left fashion. What do you miss most?

FORD: Not having a voice in contemporary culture. Not being able to take what I see happening, turning it into something, pushing it out there and having it become a part of the fabric of our time. But right now I love not designing and if I do go back to it I think I will ultimately be better off for taking a break--I've become a real person again. If I do go back to fashion it will have to be in a new way. It's a little tired, this formula of fashion shows, celebrities, get the girl in the dress, put her on the red carpet, get the pictures in the style magazines. It needs to evolve and if I can figure out what that is, maybe I'll do it.

Tell me about your budding film career.

I've written a screenplay with another screenwriter, and I've just bought the rights to a book and I am now searching for the right writer to do the adaptation.

Have you ever studied film or worked behind a camera?