“I did go a bit wild,” confirms Mr Tom Ford, describing the process of creating his latest capsule collection, now available exclusively on MR PORTER. “I was thinking, oh my god, what do we need right now? We need colour, flowers, pieces you can mix up together crazily. It was designed for the 25-year-old, 6ft 2in me who lives in Palm Springs or Mustique,” he jokes.

The revelation that the legendary designer creates his collections with a fantasy version of himself in mind should hardly come as a surprise. The entire TOM FORD brand is a fantasy of sorts. It’s a devil-may-care attitude to style. It’s fashion’s take on the American dream. It’s glamour. It’s masculinity. It’s feeling no shame in wanting to look your best.

Such is the designer's remarkable clarity of vision that these qualities come through in every product that bears his name – from tuxedo jackets to fragrances. It’s why those familiar with the brand can spot one of its products at 20 paces. There’s just something so… TOM FORD about it. And that’s exactly how we’d describe this collection, a capsule prepared exclusively for MR PORTER, which we are delighted to present to you just in time for high summer.

As with TOM FORD’s SS21 line, it was designed during last year’s pandemic, but Ford refuses to let that detail define the collection. “To be honest, the collection is more inspired by my living in Los Angeles than it is a reaction to Covid,” he says. “Colour looks different here. People dress differently here. They might wear an expensive item, but they’ll wear it with jeans or a sweatpant or something that brings it down. They rarely dress in a formal way unless they’re on a red carpet or they’re a talent agent.”

It's a softer, more languid expression of the TOM FORD brand, then, packed with vibrant floral prints, which adorn tailored shorts, full-length, kimono-style dressing gowns and generously cut shirts designed to be worn unbuttoned in Ford’s own inimitable style. There is suiting, of course – it wouldn’t be a TOM FORD collection without it – but in fabrics and colours that speak to the current mood in menswear.

“I do think tailoring will continue to thrive for eveningwear,” says Ford. “Whether it’s worn with a shirt and bow tie or not, an extravagant evening jacket will always be desirable.”