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His designs are the epitome of sophistication and style. 

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For 25 years, Tom Ford has been injecting glamour into the world of international fashion, winning him respect within the industry along with a host of A-list devotees.

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Born in Texas, he doubled in acting before setting his sights on design. 

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But it was in the 1990s this self-proclaimed perfectionist made a name for himself 

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by turning the then-struggling fashion house Gucci into a highly profitable business. 

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An accomplishment that would later see him launch his own namesake brand and deliver sought after designs from head to toe and everything in between.

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But it's not all about fashion for the 49-year-old. 

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He made his directorial debut with the 2009 film, A Single Man, which lead to an Oscar nomination for lead actor Collin Firth.

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First, let's discuss Tom Ford as a label in its own right. Apparently you were once absolutely terrified about seeing your own name on a label. 

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I'm assuming, though, that with, what, 21 stores around the world now, you're over that.

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I am over that. You know, the reason I said that was

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that I put so much of myself into both Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent when I was designing those brands that I felt totally fulfilled creatively. 

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So, it never occurred to me that the time would come when I would want my own label, need my own label.

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You know, your name is a funny thing. It stands for what you're about, and everything I do is really about pride. 

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I don't work for money any longer. I'm fortunate enough not to need to work for money, but I work for pride. I work because I love to work. 

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And so, the idea that one could lose control of one's own name and that things could be produced with your name on it

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that you were not proud of scared me. So, I've changed my mind.

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When you were in New York, you studied at Parsons the New School for Design.

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Yeah, first I went to NYU and I studied Art History.

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And you dropped out.

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And I dropped out. I worked as an actor in television commercials, which I did not like, but I was successful at it. 

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And I lived back and forth between New York and Los Angeles. I hated it. I was too self-conscious at that moment in time. And so, I went back to school. 

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And I had always been fascinated with architecture because I like building things, which I finally learned. 

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That's what I like, building a movie, building stores, building a company, building a shoe, designing, you know, I love that. 

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So, I went back to school and studied at Parsons and studied undergraduate architecture.

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After a while, though, you moved to Paris.

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I was living in Paris before. I went to New York, and then, when I left New York, I moved to Milan. 

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Because I lived in New York, I worked for Cathy Hardwick, I worked for Perry Ellis. 

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I left Perry Ellis to go to Gucci in 1990 and I was 28 years old.

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So, I moved to Europe. I thought, I'll work for Gucci for two years, I'll learn all the best factories for everything, and then I'll start my own company. 

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Working for Gucci turned out to be very interesting, because I kept moving to a different level and things started happening in the company 

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and all of a sudden, I had an opportunity at Gucci to do things that I never thought I would. 

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And I ended up staying for 14 years.

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Eventually, Gucci became Gucci-YSL. And... 

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Gucci Group. And YSL was our first acquisition. 

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So, my role at Gucci became very much a designer, because I was doing both Gucci and YSL. 

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I was shuttling back and forth between London, Paris, Milan, and designing 16 collections a year. 

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And I was also... I had a very big role in the company with regards to the business. 

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And so, it was... I was stretched pretty thin, by the end.

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A Single Man was your first feature film.

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It was.

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And there was a tremendous amount of Oscar buzz at the time. Colin Firth was even nominated for a Best Actor Oscar. 

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Talk to me about what it was like going into that very strange, I think, business when you're not used to it.

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It felt totally natural to me. And, you know, I have to say, I've had a house in Los Angeles for a long time. I have an office there. 

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I know a lot of people in the film industry. Everyone was incredibly supportive. There's a line, I think, that, you know, people in Hollywood can "nice" you to death. 

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So, when they're supportive, you have to kind of take it with a grain of salt, but they're incredibly polite, incredibly supportive.

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So, I thought, "Well, everyone thought I can really do this". It wasn't until after I had made my film that almost every interviewer said, 

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"What was it like making a film and having it turn out as a success when everyone thought you were crazy?" And I thought... 

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How sweet.

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People thought I was crazy? You mean, people didn't actually think I could do this? Because I had a very clear picture of what I wanted the film to be. 

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And I'm not going to say that there weren't things that I learned and that I didn't know, but directing a film is not that dissimilar to being a creative director of a large fashion house.

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First of all, you have to have a vision. That's the most important thing. You have to have something to say. Why does anybody need to see a Tom Ford film? 

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Why does anybody need a Tom Ford jacket or a Tom Ford brand? So you have to have something to say.

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Then, you have to hire a great team of people to help you realize that vision. 

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And you have to create an environment where those people can be creative and give you their very best. 

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And then you have to also slowly guide, carefully, that team of people to help you realize your vision.

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How different is the public persona Tom Ford from the Tom Ford that only you and those closest to you know?

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Very, very, very different. Of course, they cross. I mean, I've put an enormous amount of my personality into my brand. 

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But, I am actually -- and you won't believe it because I'm very confident sitting here talking to you -- very, very shy. 

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I love to be alone. And, you know, I'm very, very different, I think. 

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Because, you know, when your image is around and what you design is somewhat slick and very urban, people can think that you are just surface, 

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because that is what we produce in fashion. 

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We produce surface, and film produces surface, too, by the way. 

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There's an enormous amount of, you know, smoke behind those mirrors. And so, I'm very different.