Last week, Tom Ford launched his much-awaited menswear collection at a brand new New York flagship, where he provided personal tours to the fashion elite, including Bernard Arnault of LVMH and Cathy Horyn of the New York Times.

It seems that while Cathy was impressed, she didn’t necessarily understand the business rationale for Tom’s decision to focus solely on the most elite niche of the menswear market, i.e. men who are willing to spend upwards of $3000 on a suit. Tot top it all off, Ford has supplemented the purchase of the suit with a truly luxurious environment (read expensive capital expenditure and rent) to provide a truly unique tailoring experience.

Will Mr Ford be able to work his Gucci magic again? There is an interesting discussion speculating on this topic in the comments section of Cathy Horyn’s post.