Tom Ford’s Biggest Front Row Surprise? A New Fashion-Forward Princess
The front row at a Tom Ford show is a place to see and be seen. The people watching at the designer’s collections is always epic and amid supermodels, editors, and Hollywood royalty, Ford always throws in a wild card. Tonight the season’s sensation came in the form of Pauline Ducruet, the stylish Monegasque royal who arrived at the Park Avenue Armory in a daring black leather dress. With its 1980s vibe and innate sexiness, the look was worlds away from staid ideas about princess dressing and mirrored instead the styles favored by Ducruet’s mother, the original royal rebel Princess Stéphanie.
While she isn’t technically a princess—Ducruet and her siblings don’t hold titles—she brought a regal polish to an unexpected outfit. It takes skill to pull off big shoulder pads and leather, but Ducruet knows how to make tricky ideas work. By adding on sky high strappy sandals and pulling her hair back into a high ponytail, she kept things modern and sleek.
Though her front row spot at Tom Ford marks her first trip to New York Fashion Week, Ducruet is a regular during the Paris Couture shows and she is often spotted at Chanel, Giambattista Valli, Valentino among others. That said, even with the world’s most luxurious fashions at her disposal, she’s not above popping into Zara with her mom and sharing the resulting outfit of the day on Instagram. All of which makes Ducruet a throughly modern royal, and someone we’re eager to see more of.
Tom Ford Spring 2019 Ready-to-Wear:
