Tom Ford Back to Fashion

One year after his final catwalk bow, the fashion designer Tom Ford yesterday announced his return to the luxury business.

Ford, one of the most successful designers of recent decades, who transformed the ailing Gucci into one of the world's largest and most profitable brands and amassed a personal fortune of over $200m (£106m) in the process, yesterday announced a partnership with another venerable luxury brand.

He is to put his name to fragrance and upmarket beauty products for the 59-year-old cosmetics giant Estee Lauder.

The deal was announced as one element of a new Tom Ford brand, masterminded by Ford and his longtime business partner, Domenico de Sole.

As well as the Lauder deal, which will see a Tom Ford branded Estee Lauder beauty range on sale for Christmas, the Ford brand launches with a sunglasses range, to be manufactured by Marcolin. It is expected that Tom Ford clothing will follow.

Although Ford's background is in fashion, his appeal to Lauder is clear: it was his flair for building brand and image that were the key to his success at Gucci.

He once said he was lucky to have a "mass-market taste", saying that if he liked something, he usually found that millions of other people liked it too.