Tom Ford

Tom Ford, regularly hailed as one of the best designers in the world, says that even he has doubts about his work from time to time. At a recent Q&A session in London, Ford told the audience, "Of course I doubt myself. Constantly."

"In fashion you have to doubt yourself right up to the last minute. Even if you've finished a collection and it's the night before you're going to show it and you realize 'Oh that's so wrong,' you have to throw it out, you have to get rid of it, you have to destroy it," he said. "So you're constantly doubting yourself. You constantly have to question yourself."

Still, Ford says being nitpicky about what he creates doesn't remove the sting of a bad review. In fact, it often amplifies it.

"Often, a bad review is right, and those hurt in a different way because you know in your heart what you're reading is right. You're quite raw because they come out the day or two days after what you've done when you haven't been able to recover from it," he said. "You're exhausted and you can't really see what you've created because you're too close to it."

Jennifer Aniston and boyfriend Justin Theroux left LA for Paris, and after a quick change of jeans from her airport look, Jennifer was ready to tour the romantic city in a classic-slash-cool look: a navy double-breasted Balmain blazer with gold buttons, a white tank, cuffed jeans, these comfy white Superga sneakers ($70), mirrored aviators, a brown bag, and a printed Balmain scarf — here's a similar version ($399, originally $615). If you have an upcoming vacation that requires lots of strolling and sightseeing but you still want to look cute, then copy Jennifer's laid-back chic outfit on one of the days.

Those stories and more in our daily news roundup.

• Naomi Campbell celebrated her 42nd birthday in the holy city of Bethlehem, where she lit candles at The Church of the Nativity (built on the location of Jesus's birth). "I'm happy to be here," Campbell told a Palestinian television station. "Weapons and war, greed and oil . . . I hope it all stops. I care about health, about good vibrations, not destruction." [The Associated Press]
  

• The best things in life are free, and that extends to fashion-centric iPhone apps. Among the best new ones are a mobile version of the bookmarking site Svpply and a shoppable street style app called Kaleidoscope. [The High Low]
  

• LVMH will "encourage its more than 90,000 employees to adopt state-of-the-art environmental practice" during its first Green Week, an internal initiative designed to make the company friendlier to the Earth. "This year, LVMH is focusing on techniques to reduce its footprint in water-intensive sectors, including vineyards, cosmetics, and perfumes," the company said. [WWD]
  

• Tom Ford's perfume Violet Blonde was named best Luxe Women's scent at the 2012 FiFi Awards, widely considered the Oscars of the fragrance industry. Ford's Jasmin Rouge scent also won in both the men's and women's Nouveau Niche category. [Fashion Etc.]
  

• Kate Moss was overlooked for a spot on the new walk of fame in her hometown of Croydon, England. Instead, residents of the London suburb have nominated actress Peggy Ashcroft, comedian Ronnie Corbett, and composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, among others, to be honored with life-sized portraits in the center of town. Voting ends on June 16, so perhaps there's time for a write-in campaign? [Stylelist]
  

• Vogue Netherlands is sticking to its practice of casting Dutch models for covers: Guinevere Van Seenus stars on the front of the June issue in a portrait shot by Annemarieke van Drimmelen. [The Fashion Spot]

Photo: Naomi Campbell walks during the 20th Life Ball, an annual AIDS charity event, at Vienna's city hall on May 19, 2012.

From his childhood in the American Southwest to his positions at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent, there's never been a point in Tom Ford's life when aesthetics didn't matter — and he said as much during a discussion with Fern Mallis Tuesday night at the 92nd Street Y in New York.

Mallis asked Ford about his entire life and career, allowing plenty of room for witty banter and revealing moments. Ford even mentioned that he's always wanted to have kids. "I think I'd better get busy soon, though, because I'd like to be able to pick them up," he joked. But between designing his next women's collection and the three films he has planned for the future, Ford is already plenty busy. Below, some of his most memorable quotes from the evening.

On getting dressed for school at age 7: "I didn't want to carry a book bag. I thought it looked messy. No, I had a nice little overcoat and I had a briefcase. And it was a real man's briefcase. And when you're 7 years old, a real man’s briefcase is like going to school with luggage."

On his first job with designer Cathy Hardwick: "Of course you would assume if someone is showing you a fashion portfolio that they studied fashion. I didn't. [Ford studied interior design and architecture at Parsons.] The first day she said, 'Draw some circle skirts.' And I'm like, 'Sh*t.' So I went to Bloomingdale's, flipped open the circle skirts, saw where all the seams were, ran back to the office, sketched some circle skirts, and put them on her desk. So I learned a lot on the job."

On feeling accomplished: "You never 'make it.' Especially in an industry where you have to churn out stuff. Things. You're never finished, and you're only as good as your last collection. I mean, in the last year, I've had a comeback, I've been finished, I've come back again. You can't rest. You cannot rest."

On designing Yves Saint Laurent: "Yves was very friendly at first. . . . As things started to go well and as things started to get good reviews and our sales started going up, Yves was no longer my friend. And I actually have some wonderful handwritten letters in very beautiful handwriting in ink: 'In 13 minutes you have destroyed what I worked 40 years to create.' . . . It was tough."

On his first movie, A Single Man: "I wasn't trying to create a big box office hit. I was trying to create something personal that I loved that I didn't compromise on, and it was a very different type of expression."

On that H&M rumor: "I keep reading that, and I find that amusing. I've never had a conversation with H&M. I'm really happy doing what I do. . . . What excites me now is the very best: the best stitching, the best fabric, the best quality. And unfortunately, or fortunately, that does tend to cost money."

Ford's advice to aspiring designers: "If there's anything else in the world you could be happy doing, do that. I'm serious. This is the hardest industry. . . . If you love it great. You'll have a wonderful life. But I don't think people realize how hard people work in fashion."

Photo: Chanel Iman with Tom Ford at the 2012 Met Gala.

Our daily news roundup.

• Ashton Kutcher plays a Karl Lagerfeld-inspired character in a new ad for Pop Chips. Kutcher wears a white wig, dark sunglasses, and plenty of silver accessories as his character Darl talks about what he looks for in a date. "Money creates taste, and I have lots of both," Darl quips. [Styleite]
  

• Bygone couture label Mainbocher and shoe line Herbert Levine, among other shuttered brands, are set to relaunch in the near future thanks to French investor Arnaud de Lummen. De Lummen is known for restarting Vionnet in 2006 before selling it to Matteo Marzotto and Gianni Castiglioni in 2009. "When you relaunch, you already have a story to tell. After a few years, people completely forget that the brand was dormant," De Lummen said. [Vogue UK]
  

• Tom Ford's Spring 2012 menswear lookbook has been called risqué for featuring images of a near-naked male model — and a female model wearing nothing but a towel on her head. [Fashionista]
  

• Balmain launched its first social medial profiles on Twitter and Facebook on Wednesday. "We have product and pictures and creations to show, and we’re ready to communicate with the followers," said the brand's CEO Emmanuel Diemoz. [WWD]
  

• Speaking of social media, model and blogger Hanneli Mustaparta has been tapped as a contributor to Calvin Klein's new Tumblr page. Mustaparta will write about her behind-the-scenes experiences with the brand. [Calvin Klein]
  

• Aquascutum might be saved from bankruptcy thanks to Chinese firm YGM Trading, which has begun taking steps to buy the label. If the sale goes through, YGM would own Aquascutum entirely — it already owns the brand's intellectual property rights and controls sales of Aquascutum in Asia. [The Cut]

Photo courtesy of Tom Ford

>> Tom Ford's talk at this weekend's Vogue Festival touched on everything from the designer's sexuality (at one point he said he's "not gay") to why he wears his own cosmetics.

Alexandra Shulman led the conversation with the designer, asking why he posed for ads with so many naked women when he's been openly gay for years. Ford explained that he doesn't believe people "have to put boxes around everything," then asked, "Have you ever slept with a woman, Alex?"

The question prompted laughter from the audience, and a giggling Shulman answered no and pointed to Ford's partner of 25 years, Richard Buckley. Read on to see how he responded and some of the best quotes from the rest of his talk.

On his sexuality: "I hate to use the words gay and straight, and I think we're all on some sort of sliding scale. Of course, I'm at the Richard Buckley end of the scale, but I hate that gay/straight thing."

On why it's important to be in his own ads: "I'm the face of the brand. With Chanel, you feel that Karl Lagerfeld's personality has really melded with Coco's — but not everyone knows yet who I am, so that's why I'm in the pictures. I don't like having my picture taken but it helps people to respond . . . My real life's not like the fantasy Tom Ford world, with naked girls pouring perfume everywhere. It's more staying in and watching Friends on television."

On staging presentations rather than runway shows: "The reason I present in a small, controlled way is that so much of what makes my clothes special is the cut, the stitching, the lining — things that would be lost on the catwalk. On the catwalk you have to exaggerate, almost."

On testing his line of cosmetics: "I put every single thing on — I don't wear it down the street, but I want to see how it covers, how it works. When you put your name on something, you want people to know you believe in it."