Lady Gaga Stars in Soul Train Dance Party for Tom Ford’s SS16 Collection
Lady Gaga in Tom Ford’s SS16 collection music video.
No one knew if Tom Ford would even show his spring collection within the confines of the fashion calendar. The designer’s tried a few different things: star-studded runway show in New York, intimate presentation in London, dazzling Hollywood extravaganza in Los Angeles. But this season, as the designer starts to film his new movie Nocturnal Animals, Ford’s name was nowhere to be found on the schedule—and no one had received an invitation to anything.
Turns out that was because Ford was already filming his SS16 collection in Los Angeles, with the help of Nile Rogers, Nick Knight, and one other famous name. The full-blown Soul Train dance party featured a gaggle of models, including Lucky Blue Smith, and then Lady Gaga. The ebullient video features a fresh-faced Gaga getting down with the other models, all of whom can seriously boogie.
Models having a dance party in Ford’s video.
Ford sent the film to a select few editors for preview hours before it became available to the public on tomford.com at 7AM Friday morning, the third day of Paris Fashion Week, accompanied by this note:
Instead of having a traditional show this season, I decided to try something new. Having a runway show has become so much about the creation of imagery for online and social media and watching a filmed fashion show can be like watching a filmed play [which is never very satisfying].
I wanted to think about how to present a collection in a cinematic way that was designed from its inception to be presented online.
I have always loved “Soul Train” which used to be on TV in the 70’s; as it was as much about the clothes as the music. I asked Nile Rodgers to collaborate on a new version of one of his great hits from that time, “I Want Your Love,” and worked with Lady Gaga to record the vocals. I staged a full show and shot it in Los Angeles with Gaga on the runway.
It was a great deal of fun to do and I think that the video captures the exuberant mood of the collection in a way that a filmed traditional show would not have.
Ford’s the latest in a series of designers to seek alternatives to the traditional runway show. An increasing number have chosen to stage a presentation or a digital show. Designer Misha Nonoo staged her show on Instagram this season, emerging brand Nadaam tried guerilla marketing, and Nanette Lepore through a party.
Fashion clearly needs to shake things up and with Ford leading the pack, well, it’s a guaranteed good time for all.
