Podcast Summary: This Life of Mine with James Corden
Episode: Tom Ford
Date: October 28, 2025
Host: James Corden (as James Naughtie)
Overview
In this deeply personal and engaging conversation, James Corden (hosting under his original name, James Naughtie, for this episode) sits down with iconic designer and filmmaker Tom Ford. Ford reflects on the defining places, people, objects, music, and memories that have shaped his extraordinary life—from Santa Fe roots and 70s New York, to transformative love and loss, and his recent pivot from fashion to filmmaking. Ford’s irreverent humor and candor shine through as he discusses beauty, perfection, grief, and fatherhood.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Voices, London, and Moving Through Cities
[02:14–04:50]
- Tom Ford opens with playful banter about voiceover work, sharing stories about recording fragrance ads and advice from Lauren Bacall on controlling her voice.
- Discussion of living in London, Milan, and Paris due to his career with Gucci, and how returning to LA was shaped by his late partner’s illness.
- Ford expresses love for London’s culture, humor, intelligence, and sophistication.
Notable Quote:
“The thing I love about London—the culture, irreverence, the humor, the intelligence, the sophistication.”
—Tom Ford [04:04]
2. The Place: Santa Fe, New Mexico
[05:07–06:40]
- Ford recalls his childhood home, a traditional adobe house with three-foot-thick walls, and the strong emotional connection he maintains to Santa Fe.
- Early signs of design genius: As a child, Ford would rearrange household furniture for aesthetic reasons.
Notable Quote:
“When I close my eyes and I think about where I want to spend the last years of my life, it’s generally there.”
—Tom Ford [05:14]
3. Early Obsession with Aesthetics and Perfection
[06:50–08:48]
- Describes his perfectionism and how being highly visual causes actual discomfort when things are out of place.
- Childhood experiences: Attended school carrying an attache case at age seven, often teased for his fashion sense.
- Perfection, Ford says, is fleeting and ultimately unsatisfying.
Notable Quote:
“For someone who's enormously visual...it actually causes me pain. Bad lighting causes me pain. It's painful for visual people to stare at things that don't fit into their aesthetic.”
—Tom Ford [07:00]
4. New York in the Glamorous Late 70s
[08:48–13:38]
- Arrived in late-1970s NYC at age 17. Attended Studio 54, met icons like Andy Warhol.
- Ford reflects on the sexual and social liberation of the era and its contrast to today’s standards in fashion and advertising.
- Critique of current beauty norms: Models now look sad and joyless compared to the vibrant, smiling faces of the past.
Notable Quotes:
“It was one of the most amazing places. When we talk today about, you know, transgender, transsexual or the kind of freedom that we're now starting to celebrate with being able to be who you are—it was, it was there, you could be anything.”
—Tom Ford [11:47]
“Today, our beauty standard is hard. It's off putting, it's angry, it's depressed. You look at ads today and everyone looks miserable in their $4,000, $5,000...dress.”
—Tom Ford [12:27]
5. The Music: “Slave to Love” by Bryan Ferry
[13:38–14:58]
- Ford chooses Bryan Ferry’s “Slave to Love” for its sensuality and personal significance, despite partner Richard’s distaste for it on repeat.
- Music as a vessel for memory and emotion.
6. Meeting and Loving Richard Buckley
[15:13–17:29]
- Ford narrates meeting Richard, their immediate connection, and their 35-year relationship.
- The pair, both in creative high points, navigated love during the AIDS crisis.
Notable Quote:
“In my head, it was just, click, click, click...Oh, my God, you’re the one. And that was it. By the time the elevator hit the ground...a month after meeting, we were living together.”
—Tom Ford [16:10]
7. Richard’s Impact and the Meaning of Critique
[17:29–19:18]
- Richard provided grounding, constructive criticism after fashion shows.
- Ford credits Richard with giving the crucial feedback that sparked his creative reinvention at Gucci.
Notable Quote:
“He said...the girls don't want to wear those clothes. That was all I had to say. And I immediately thought, okay...I’m going to make clothes that I think are sexy.”
—Tom Ford [18:14]
8. Sex, Fashion, and the Hairless Era
[19:18–22:47]
- Discussion turns playfully candid: Ford theorizes how he’d approach designing for Corden, and muses on shifting beauty standards—particularly body hair.
- Anecdotes about the current “hairless” fashion period and the time he commissioned merkins for a nude photo shoot because no models had body hair.
Notable Quote:
“So you are very in fashion, James. You don't have a hair on your body.”
—Tom Ford [22:36]
9. Beauty in All Forms
[22:47–23:40]
- Emphasizes his belief that beauty is everywhere, and much of what is considered beautiful is learned.
Notable Quote:
“There is beauty in everything. If you look at it...so much of what we consider beautiful is what we've been fed.”
—Tom Ford [23:26]
10. The Possession: Richard Neutra House
[23:48–25:09]
- Ford selects his former Neutra house in LA, treasuring its design and memories; it was where he brought his son home, celebrated with Richard, and lived some of his happiest moments.
- Reflection on nostalgia, outgrowing possessions, and embracing new beginnings.
Notable Quote:
“Living in this house was like living in a piece of sculpture...Good things happened in that house.”
—Tom Ford [24:02]
11. Mortality, Moving to Filmmaking, and Being Present
[25:09–27:07]
- Ford has long been conscious of mortality and the passage of time.
- Expresses gratitude for becoming a parent later in life, when he could be more present.
- On transitioning from fashion to film: film offers creative permanence and personal imprint, as with A Single Man.
Notable Quote:
“A film is permanent. It's a little world sealed in a bubble and it lasts forever and you are in control. It's the closest thing to being God that one can be, I think.”
—Tom Ford [26:43]
12. The Film: “The Women” (1939)
[28:19–29:23]
- Ford’s most-watched film: George Cukor’s “The Women.”
- Praises the wit, all-female cast, and dialogue—attributes he feels are missing in contemporary cinema.
13. The Memory: Richard’s Death
[29:23–33:03]
- Chosen memory is the sudden, startling loss of his husband, Richard Buckley.
- Shares the raw, vivid details of discovering Richard and how the image is “burned” into his mind.
- Moving from Los Angeles was prompted in part by the weight of those memories.
Notable Quote:
“There is not a day that goes by that I do not see his face at that particular moment in time...it is the most potent and pungent memory.”
—Tom Ford [30:56]
14. Letting Go of the Tom Ford Brand
[33:03–35:04]
- Reflects on selling his brand and the inevitable separation of self from business.
- Emphasizes the need to let go—both in life and in death—to enjoy the time that remains.
- Now focuses on directing films; embraces uncertainty and creativity afresh.
Notable Quote:
“Once you realize that, you realize also the important thing is to enjoy your time on the planet. And if those things are things you no longer enjoy, then let go of them.”
—Tom Ford [34:45]
15. The Person: His Son, Jack
[35:14–37:14]
- Ford’s greatest reason for living is his son, Jack. Ford describes feeling complete and ready for life’s next chapter only because he has Jack to care for and impart wisdom to.
- Quotes Jacqueline Kennedy’s acceptance at the end of her life, drawing parallels to his own sense of having “had a great run.”
Notable Quote:
“If I didn't have Jack, I don't really quite know what I would be living for right now...But because I have Jack, I have something new, something to live for.”
—Tom Ford [35:34]
Memorable Quotes
- “Bad lighting causes me pain. It’s painful for visual people to stare at things that don’t fit into their aesthetic.” —Tom Ford [07:00]
- “Perfection...can leave you feeling empty. Sometimes I wish it was an affliction I did not have.” —Tom Ford [08:28]
- “A film is permanent. It's the closest thing to being God that one can be, I think.” —Tom Ford [26:43]
- “There is beauty in everything. If you look at it, so much of what we consider beautiful is what we've been fed.” —Tom Ford [23:26]
- “When we die, we let go of everything...So once you realize that, you realize also the important thing is to enjoy your time on the planet.” —Tom Ford [34:22]
Key Timestamps
- 02:14–04:50: Voiceovers, Lauren Bacall story, cities
- 05:07–06:40: Childhood home in Santa Fe and early design inclinations
- 08:48–13:38: New York in the 70s, Studio 54, changing standards of beauty
- 14:00–14:58: Bryan Ferry’s “Slave to Love”
- 15:13–17:29: Meeting Richard Buckley
- 18:14–19:18: Richard's career-changing critique
- 19:18–22:47: Sex, hairlessness, cultural standards
- 22:47–23:40: On finding beauty in the unexpected
- 23:48–25:09: The importance and memories of his Neutra house
- 25:09–27:07: Mortality and the move into filmmaking
- 28:19–29:23: Choosing “The Women” as a formative film
- 29:36–33:03: Richard’s Death—a memory with ongoing impact
- 33:03–35:04: Selling the Tom Ford brand; cultivating impermanence
- 35:14–37:14: Son Jack as his ultimate reason for living
Tone and Style
Playful, sharp, deeply honest, and at times, raw—Ford moves easily between self-deprecation and profundity, with Corden offering warmth and gentle humor. The episode explores heavy topics with sensitivity and unexpected candor, interspersed with banter and reflection.
For Listeners Who Haven't Tuned In
This episode offers a rare, intimate portrait of Tom Ford’s journey—from the adobe houses of Santa Fe to the heights of fashion, and now to the world of film—anchored by his enduring love for Richard Buckley and devotion to his son, Jack. It's an inspiring meditation on creativity, beauty, grief, renewal, and the relentless quest for meaning and connection.