AT PARIS FASHION WEEK, the fight for attention is fierce. But from the moment the first model stepped out into that stark, white gallery space at the Place Vendôme in Paris it was obvious that Haider Ackermann’s latest collection for Tom Ford quickly became one of the most discussed collections of the season. The show distilled the house’s familiar codes of glamour into a focused study of tailoring, proportion and controlled sensuality.

Ackermann leaned heavily on the suit, presenting a line-up of double-breasted jackets, pinstripes and crisp shirts that nodded to classic power dressing. The silhouettes were sharp yet relaxed through the leg, with trousers falling long over narrow boots. Details such as white neckties, slim ties tucked into trousers and floral corsages softened the formality, giving the looks a faintly decadent edge without tipping into nostalgia.

Sex appeal ran quietly through the collection. Jackets were cut close to the torso, shirts left open low on the chest and belts worn loosely at the hip. These small adjustments shifted the line of the body, turning the discipline of tailoring into a subtle instrument of seduction.

One thing that Ford the man himself understood was that even the most mundane piece of fashion – denim and a t-shirt, for example – could still be the sexiest thing a person could wear. Ackermann seems to speak the same language as Ford, although he’s also happy to play with materials. Leather, denim, fur (assumingly faux, given Ackermann’s track record there) were elevated beyond their already luxurious treatment.

Denim provided one of the show’s most talked-about moments. Ackermann introduced high-waisted jeans in a dark rinse with pronounced whiskering, styled with tuxedo jackets, knit turtlenecks and leather gloves. The silhouette, slim through the leg and worn high on the waist, echoed the sharp geometry of the suits while giving the collection a grounded, everyday element.

Elsewhere, tailoring continued to anchor the narrative. Banker shirts appeared with leather collars, while pinstripes and micro patterns reinforced the house’s long association with refined menswear. Transparent raincoats layered over suits added an unexpected note of practicality and protection.

As rapid as the word looksmaxxing has crept into the vernacular, this hyper-aesthetic trend of online masculinity has made its way onto various runways. Ackermann went to the source: Patrick Bateman, complete with a transparent raincoat over the suit.

Ackermann described the collection as a response to unsettled times, suggesting clothes that encourage a sense of composure and clarity. In practice, the menswear achieved this through precision. While he’s clearly in touch with the seduction that lay at the heart of the Tom Ford brand DNA, Ackermann knows that there’s little to be won by simple repeating the past. He’s taking it into new territory. An unsettling one, for said unsettled times.

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