YSL To Tom Ford: 'In 13 Minutes On The Runway You Have Destroyed 40 Years Of My Career' (VIDEO)
Tom Ford once said that he was "absolutely terrified" about having his own label, for the fear of losing control of his own name and vision. Turns out that Ford, subject of an upcoming documentary, already experienced this tricky transition from the other side: as the highly-scrutinized heir to Yves Saint Laurent's maison.
In an interview with CNN, Ford remarks that Saint Laurent made no secret of his resentment of his successor, even sending him numerous angry letters. "When I started to get great press and business [at YSL] started to become successful, Yves became really quite hostile," recalled Ford, "and we had a little bit different taste. I have letters that he wrote to me about it, you know: 'In 13 minutes on the runway you have destroyed 40 years of my career.'"
Harsh as the criticism was, Ford understands the sentiment. He explained, "Your name is a funny thing. It stands for everything you're about, and everything I do is really about pride....The idea that one could lose control of one's own name and that things could be produced with your name on it that you were not proud of scared me."
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The Huffington Post Ellie Krupnick
First Posted: 06/02/11 02:03 PM ET Updated: 08/02/11 06:12 AM ET