PHOTO EXCLUSIVE: Tom Ford's Super-Secret Spring 2011 Collection

*SCROLL DOWN FOR THE PHOTO*

September 12th marked Tom Ford's return to womenswear, following a six-year "pause," with one of the most closely guarded presentations in recent fashion memory. He turned the traditional fashion show formula on its head by banishing the usual hordes of photographers, Twitterers and bloggers who offer same-day coverage on the internet, and invited only top fashion editors and one photographer, Terry Richardson, within the walls of his Spring 2011 presentation.

Mr. Ford (as he now prefers to be called) also did away with traditional runway models, instead handpicking some names you might be more familiar with--Beyoncé, Julianne Moore, Lauren Hutton, and Rita Wilson--to showcase his garments. He told the media that they'd just have to wait for the photos: Richardson's photographs would appear on the newly relaunched TomFord.com (which for now sits dormant on its homepage) in December, when the clothes were ready for his stores. Now Vogue is running the first images of the collection in their December issue, which hits newsstands in New York and Los Angeles this Tuesday.

"I do not understand everyone's need to see everything online the day after a show," he explains to Vogue. "I don't think it ultimately serves the customer, which is the whole point of my business--not to serve journalists or the fashion system. To put something out that's going to be in a store in six months, and to see it on a starlet, ranked in US magazine next week? My customer doesn't want to wear the same thing she saw on a starlet!"

In the time since Mr. Ford left Gucci in 2004--a dark period where "My values were in the wrong place" and "I didn't know if I cared if I lived or died"--he discovered Daoism and co-wrote, financed, directed and edited the critically acclaimed "A Single Man," a film which earned Colin Firth an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role.

As of this morning, Vogue.com has published the first look at this highly anticipated collection, and they've kindly shared one of the spreads exclusively with HuffPost Style. For more images and the accompanying article, visit Vogue.com.

Photograph by Steven Meisel.

Quick Poll

What do you think of Tom Ford's spring collection?

LOVE. Totally worth the wait.

Very nice, but it doesn't justify all the secrecy around it.

This is what we've been waiting for?

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Comments

[Evefrancis]

01:47 PM on 01/04/2011

Tom Ford is a genius at PUBLICITY he took YSL and Fashion by storm by reaching back into the 70's and giving us the 70's sexiness at a time when we wanted it and it felt new but that time is over and he is still doing the same references. He can do 70's but it should not be so literal, LITERALLY Halston!

[Marlene Williams]

03:06 PM on 11/21/2010

My favorite employment advice...look for a job with a married top "A" jock.

[SamiSam]

07:47 PM on 11/19/2010

I want it all!

[UhOh1]

07:52 PM on 11/16/2010

looks pretty chic to me.

[toni63]

05:52 AM on 11/16/2010

the late 70's REALLY Tom....is that what you're throwing back at us..
Not sure I'm buying it ..
Loved your movie and your prior work at Gucci..but ...
sorry , this just seems played out already..

[suemj]

10:22 PM on 11/15/2010

I like him!

[JKPHILLY]

05:46 PM on 11/15/2010

Amazing! I am glad to see someone control the media for once on his terms!

[MsVella]

04:06 PM on 11/15/2010

I love afros. They're so stylish and sexy, more black women should leave their hair natural (though not as big as the one pictured).

[theredqueen]

04:53 PM on 11/15/2010

I agree, and my gal pal has stopped straightening her hair in the last few months and she looks fab and I'm jealous. Very beautiful and shiny and elegant.

[Lili Q]

03:18 PM on 11/15/2010

The Mod Squad hair do was really worth the wait.

[ryeroad]

01:45 PM on 11/15/2010

Why do designers have to kill animals for fur? Why can't they just use their talent to design clothes with fabric? And feathers - they pull the feathers out of birds; they do not look on the ground for feathers that drop. Having feathers pulled out hurts and any woman wearing them should be ashamed of themselves.

[tyrant510]

02:38 PM on 11/15/2010

i'm not certain there is any fur here. possibly feathers. i assume from your comment that you are a vegetarian and own no leather items including shoes or belts. is this true?

[dnb310]

02:51 PM on 11/15/2010

Why do designers have to kill animals for fur?

If you wear them while there alive they claw your neck. Plus the feeding, It's a mess.

[nik101]

01:42 PM on 11/15/2010

Amber, Beyonce, Julianne Moore. If they're not starlets, fill me in.

[MarshaMarshaMarsha]

03:10 PM on 11/15/2010

Honey, they are major STARS!

[Daria Boissonnas]

12:36 PM on 11/15/2010

Pretty clothes, gorgeous picture. But what does he mean by: "My customer doesn't want to wear the same thing she saw on a starlet!" I thought that was half the marketing plan with clothing. And why did he choose starlet models like Beyonce? To make sure his customers didn't want to wear his clothes? LOL, I'm confused.

[TricksR4Kids]

12:22 PM on 11/15/2010

Tom's contribution was walking into the room... looking at the photo and saying... "Yes, it's good."

[tyrant510]

02:46 PM on 11/15/2010

i would have to totally disagree here. tom ford's contribution to both fashion's zeitgeist and business have been huge. he is largely credited with turning around gucci. not only did sales increase more than 10 fold from when he took over, it became fashionable again. you have to remember, before tom ford, gucci was no longer cool. furthermore, he was not only in charge of design, he was also creative director for the company, in charge of everything creative. he was so successful, he was asked to try and turn around the (at that time) failing Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche line--and he did, with great success. When he made his first film, he not only directed it, but co-wrote and produced it, as the article reports. In a time of Kardashians and Lohans, it's easy to dismiss someone as just simply signing off on things. tom ford is not this person. he's worked in the fashion industry for years and is known to be incredibly hands on. Say what you like of his style or attitude, but he is contribution and successes are widely known and respected.

[MarshaMarshaMarsha]

03:05 PM on 11/15/2010

You are absolutely correct. Tom Ford is and will be forever an icon. A "starlet" is not quite a star, the women who modeled and walked in his show are major STARS. And, he is totally correct, the instant access of fashion months prior to season really is a disservice to the designers and the magazines. He's mostly right about everything.

[edro3638]

05:32 PM on 11/15/2010

Good for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And he can sew too! That is a major difficult business and to get it up there and keep it there is work! Believe me! The Man is a talent big time! Now--he should keep his mouth shut about Y S L! Yves was terrible ill when Tom took over, he should be grateful for all of the information he had to work with including is own amazing talent!
Love Haute Couture!

[TricksR4Kids]

12:21 PM on 11/15/2010

Same shapes.... different fabric.

[tcnsrq]

11:58 AM on 11/15/2010

There aren't many things bigger than this clowns ego. He was fired from YSL and he jumped the shark at Gucci.....but he got paid....so he was smart about that.

[MarshaMarshaMarsha]

03:08 PM on 11/15/2010

You are so wrong. YSL is owned by Gucci, dear. Gucci didn't want Mr. Ford's partner on the payroll, so they both left. Was it mutual? Probably. But, believe me, Mr. Ford did not get fired!
I've been in luxury retail my entire life, there has never been a force like Tom Ford to come out of fashion design. He can create anything with success because he is a creative genius.

[edro3638]

02:52 PM on 11/18/2010

Thank you Marsha!
Folks just don't understand what it takes to be a Tom Ford and maintain that level of integrity!