Being happy and not afraid to admit it: meeting with Haider Ackermann

Tom Ford's Tom Ford was all about sex, decadence and vanity. Ackermann, on the other hand, prefers vulnerability, and has introduced a new softness into what was previously a more edgy glamour: 'Tom Ford talks about a man who is somewhat dominant in his behaviour, hedonistic, assertive. This cannot be ignored, but personally I am different, I believe that seduction is something else and also passes through other ways'.

Il backstage della sfilata-debutto di Ackermann per Tom Ford. ©Vito Fernicola

His vision is in line with that of Gildo Zegna, President and CEO of the Ermenegildo Zegna Group. "With his stylistic energy, Haider is bound to strengthen the brand's DNA. Tom Ford Fashion is already one of the most powerful fashion houses worldwide, now we have increased the management team and instilled a strong retail culture to unleash its full potential. The first results are encouraging, and this is only the beginning. We are building a future rooted in creativity,' he writes.

At Tom Ford, Ackermann is gently introducing new codes: a softer silhouette, wider trousers, everything is becoming gentler. "In the early vocabulary there was a lot of talk about glamour and power, but I can't stand the word power," he confides. "Look at the world we live in today. The powerful silhouette does not attract me, it is not real to me. I don't like to show off, I am getting older, I prefer discretion. Elegance is discretion, so I am moving in this direction'. Not that he is rejecting the teachings of his predecessor: 'What I have learnt here - and certainly from my own history, the Belgian school - is the joy that Ford and his team had in being bold.

Ackermann was born in Bogotá, Colombia, in 1971 and was adopted by a French Alsatian family at the age of nine months. His father was a cartographer and the family moved around the world often, eventually settling in the Netherlands when Ackermann was almost a teenager. The experiences that shaped him coloured his aesthetic vision ('any designer should move to Bhutan', he says at one point), but clothes also quickly became a shield to defend himself against people who tried to box him in. He calls his style - a rich mix of Moroccan moccasins, scarves from Mongolia, silk from India and Africa - a protection. "When you travel a lot, as I did, clothes become a security and a way to hide yourself. I am often asked if I am French. Of course, I am French. But I don't really feel like one, nor do I feel Dutch or Colombian. I don't belong anywhere, but this gives me a great sense of freedom and allows me to adapt easily to different situations and people'.

Il designer indossa cappotto raglan in misto cashmere con collo in coccodrillo (16.690 €) e sciarpa in seta a pois (690€). Foto di Kuba Ryniewicz. Styling di Julian Ganio

He studied at a prestigious fashion school in Antwerp, where he learnt to 'respect the person wearing the clothes', but not to meet deadlines: he was eventually expelled. The experience, however, stayed with him: 'I like the Belgian school's sense of measure, I love that ability to stay one step behind. I have already travelled quite a long road: I came from Africa and its colours, gold, fuchsia, and then came to something very formal, grey and rigorous. Here, it is in that contrast between two worlds that I have found myself'.

After school he did an internship at John Galliano. He launched his own line in 2003. Karl Lagerfeld once said he would have liked to see him as his successor at Chanel, but things turned out differently. Losing the brand with his name in 2020 was awful: 'The moment they take something away from you is also the moment you realise what you are losing, what you love and what you want to do. But paradoxically I also felt a strong sense of freedom: I could start new collaborations. For 15 years I had been in my own little bubble, having new exchanges was an opportunity for renewal. I liked having my own brand and, if I look back, I would do it all again in exactly the same way... even if I had good lawyers by my side next time'. How would you define the gentleman of today? "It doesn't depend on how you dress," he replies. "Elegance, in my opinion, lies in a man's gestures and not in what he says. We live in a very noisy time, where everyone raises their voice and shouts. A gentleman, on the other hand, is measured, quiet and observant'. Then his eyes shine mischievously. "But that doesn't mean that he can't then start dancing on a table at midnight, don't get me wrong!"

Ackermann is an accomplished dancer: as a child in Algeria he took dance lessons, his mother's solution to contain her son's exuberant energies. He only stopped when he moved to the Netherlands and realised he was the only male in the class. Today, he claims, he can still dance barefoot on pointe shoes. "We dance every time we are together," Tilda Swinton confirms. "The last time was in Scotland, in the morning, in the garden, or was it midnight? Definitely barefoot, the best thing."

Ackermann indossa una camicia crêpe de chine con stampa Paisley (1.490 €), pantaloni di lana e seta con doppia piega (1.190 €), stivali di pelle brunita (2.060 €) e sciarpa in seta con stampa Paisley (690 €). Tutti i capi di queste pagine sono TOM FORD. Qui, T-shirt personale di Ackermann. Foto di Kuba Ryniewicz. Styling di Julian Ganio

In public, the designer seldom reveals his playful side: 'Karl Lagerfeld used to tell me that I was very serious, but he reminded me that I was also the person who dances to Shakira's music, so I had to loosen up a bit,' he says, laughing.

Those who know him well are used to his sudden outbursts and liveliness. Actor Timothée Chalamet, like Tilda, is a great friend of his and has long supported his vision. 'It is difficult to talk about my friendships because they are very deep. Timothée wore my clothes even when I was not able to make collections, and wore them on the red carpet when they had no commercial value. He and Tilda stood by me even in those moments. It was really very nice".

He describes himself as a control freak and tends to be dissatisfied with his past work. However, he once followed a woman for ten blocks when he noticed she was wearing one of his skirts. Had he realised immediately that it was one of his models? He looks at me incredulously, before explaining clearly: 'You recognise the signature of a garment you have worked on 12 to 15 times...'.

He currently gets up around 6 a.m., reads the papers and starts work around 8 a.m. Intensely. He is responsible for the men's, women's and beauty collections at Tom Ford and is still inside Canada Goose. "It's crazy," he says referring to the workload. "I work seven days a week, but I'm certainly not going to sit here and complain, because at the moment it's like a love affair. When you are in love you don't count the hours, you don't think about being tired." In his spare time he likes to go camping and discover places he has never seen before, spend time with his loved ones in contact with nature.

Tilda Swinton è la protagonista della nuova campagna del profumo Black Orchid Reserve, ideata da Haider Ackermann, con lei nella foto alla serata di lancio a Venezia, a Palazzo Contarini Polignac. La fragranzaintroduce la ghost orchid, il cui profumo viene catturato con la tecnologia headspace nell’attimo della fioritura (177 €, 50 ml). Entrambi indossano look custom-made del brand. Gli occhiali sono i nuovi Haider fashion show,in acetato nero con lenti colorate e logo color oro rosa sulle aste, collezione TOM FORD EYEWEAR (320 €).

As for his private life, Ackermann speaks happily of his 'lover' and rejects any other definition: 'The person I am seeing? My partner? My lover? I don't like to call him a boyfriend, it's a boring word. I just don't know what it's like not to be in love. Even with my ex-partners, I can't get away from them, they're all still there, all sitting there watching the parade, one next to the other. Maybe it's because of my history, the fact that I was adopted, the abandonment issue. So I keep my family close, very close'. He is very close to his parents, who now live in the south of France. He looks after them personally: 'Everything I am and have is thanks to them. As adoptive parents, they gave me a chance in life. They did not have to do it, but they gave me a hand and I arrived here'.

The conversation turns to age. He gets restless whenever he has to be photographed. When I ask him what it was like to participate in the Fashion Neurosis podcast by Bella Freud (the designer daughter of painter Lucian Freud and great-granddaughter of Sigmund), he tells me that his biggest fear was not having to talk about his childhood, but that the camera angle would highlight his double chin. Inevitably, I ask him if, sooner or later, he will succumb to botox like Tom Ford did. He sneers. "No, I'm safe because I'm afraid of needles. Otherwise I would have done anything!"

In his new role, Ackermann has found a happy balance, the opportunity to start another chapter of his life and renewed creative enthusiasm. "I don't like being over 50, nor do I like being the oldest person in a room. But it happens to me a lot now and that at least makes me confident in my decisions, because they are the result of experience that I have gained over time. Having said that, I like it if a person comes along and surprises me, or if he pushes me to think about something in a different way. Having taken over the creative direction of this brand makes me feel good'.

The first gentleman of fashion is so happy that he dares to admit it: 'I think the best years are yet to come.

New Roles Hair Chiao Chenet @ LGA. Make-up Aoibhín Killeen. Assistant photographer Sam Harrison. Assistant stylists Meriem Cheblal and Mitja Olenik. Production Jordan Doucet @ Angels. BRAND TOM FORD, tomford.com.