The First Leaked Photos from Tom Ford's Spring 2011 Womenswear Relaunch Preview

>> Photos may have been verboten at Tom Ford's womenswear preview yesterday — with the exception of those taken by Terry Richardson — but a few have popped up, all headshots. Even Cathy Horyn posted a few.

Ford is notorious for image control, but it's rumored that the image embargo wasn't for that reason alone: Richardson's photos are reportedly an exclusive for an all Tom Ford edited issue of Vogue Paris (likely the December/January 2011 issue, the issue that the magazine annually has a guest editor for). It makes sense, considering how close Ford and Carine Roitfeld have worked together in the past (and Roitfeld reportedly skipped shows yesterday because she was preparing for Ford's).

But Ford told the New York Times that he didn't allow pictures because fashion has become overexposed in recent years, in part because of the Internet: “I want fashion to be fun again, like it was in the ’60s. You couldn’t wait to get the clothes and put them on, and I think we’ve lost that.” He added that photos will be available on his web site in December, along with a short film of the show.

The clothes, which he began working on late last spring, will be in his stores in late January or February 2011. He expects them to be very expensive: $3,500 to $5,000 for a suit, around $4,500 for a tuxedo, and a gown could be $20,000.