Tom Ford launched his namesake label in 2005 in New York, after a decade-long run reshaping Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche. The brand opened strictly as an eyewear and beauty arm, partnering with Marcolin on frames and Estée Lauder on fragrance and cosmetics. Black Orchid followed in 2006 as the first standalone fragrance. Marketed to women but quickly hijacked by men for its dark, earthy profile, it set the template for a house that would blur gender lines in grooming from the start.
