Tom Ford Makes a Big Houston Move Into The Galleria

Simon, the biggest mall owner in the country, revealed some big news this morning — the ultimate luxury brand Tom Ford is moving to The Houston Galleria.

Slated to open just in time for Holiday 2019, the new 4,000-square-foot Tom Ford boutique will carry women’s and men’s ready-to-wear. The store will take a prime position, adjacent to Celine and Loro Piana near Neiman Marcus in the former Ralph Lauren Collection space (Ralph Lauren recently reopened a beautiful new boutique that offers four of the brand’s high-end labels in the former Polo space).

We can only imagine how stunning the interiors will be — Tom Ford typically designs his flagships in collaboration with genius interior designer William Sofield of Studio Sofield, and Ford has even been known to lend objects from his own art collection.

The news of the Houston boutique’s big move from River Oaks District was paired with the announcement that Tom Ford in Atlanta would move from The Shops at Buckhead Atlanta to Phipps Plaza, another Simon luxury destination.

“Simon and Tom Ford are a perfect fit, combining one of fashion’s most prestigious names with two of Simon’s leading properties,” Velda Turan, Simon’s senior VP of luxury leasing, says.

“We’re very pleased to continue our longstanding relationship with Simon through the addition of our two newest stores in Phipps Plaza and The Galleria,” says Tom Ford, the company’s CEO and creative director.

“Houston and Atlanta continue to be very strong markets for our business, and we look forward to serving our customers in these new stores.”

Ford announced the creation of his eponymous Tom Ford brand with former Gucci group president/CEO Domenico De Sole, who serves as chairman, in April 2005. That same year, Ford revealed partnerships with Marcolin Group to produce eyewear and with Estee Lauder to create Tom Ford beauty. His first flagship store opened on Madison Avenue in New York in 2007, coinciding with the celebrated release of his menswear and accessory collection. His hotly anticipated womenswear collection debuted in September 2010.

The Houston store opened in 2015 in River Oaks District as Tom Ford’s seventh flagship. Native Texan Ford said at the time, “Texas is my birthplace, so there is a special significance in opening my second flagship there. I am very much looking forward to having a Tom Ford flagship in Houston.”

The boutique’s opening was celebrated in high style with an unforgettable grand opening party benefitting The Menil Collection, chaired by Becca Cason Thrash. The epic evening culminated with a seated dinner at one long, dramatic table, set for 130, down the center hall of the vaunted museum.

Today, there are more than 100 freestanding Tom Ford stores and shop-in shops in metropolitan and exotic locales such as London, Milan, Zurich, Beverly Hills, Puerto Banus, Moscow, Osaka, Hong Kong, Shanghai, New Delhi, and Sydney.

The Galleria, owned in a joint venture by Simon and Institutional Mall Investors, is a natural fit for Tom Ford, which will join Chanel, Valentino, Louis Vuitton and Saint Laurent, among others, in the luxury wing. More than 30 million visitors each year visit The Galleria, the largest shopping center in Texas with more than 2.4 million square feet of space, including 400 stores and restaurants, two high-rise hotels, and three office towers.