Is Luxury dead or is Tom Ford the new Beau Brummell?
J.Brunhoff | August 4, 2008
Time for a little history for the fashion illiterate me 15 minutes ago . In the early 1800’s Beau Brummell was considered the arbiter of British fashion and is credited with introducing and establishing the modern man’s suit, as well as being the genesis of Dandyism . A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance , refined language, and leisurely hobbies. Some say that Brummell would take as long as 5 hours to dress and that he had his boots regularly polished with champagne.
While Americans care dearly for how they look I wonder if it is possible to have this level of luxury and value of the aesthetic in today’s quick and easy society. In America it seems, that even among the best dressed, we have a commodotized vision of luxury. Europeans understand and honor bespoke tailoring , a term originating from Savile Row, and seem to see beyond the clever marketing that is trying to pass off prestigious monikers and high price tags as luxury. Tom Ford played his part in creating this problem and is no set on being part of the solution.










