A lot has changed since we last photographed Tommy Ton all the way back in 2013. Nowadays the famed street style photographer is the creative director of Deveaux, a post he has held since 2018. There he infuses his well-developed appreciation for detail and effortless styling into the label; those notions carry over into the 35-year-old’s own day-to-day wardrobe as well.
"I’m wearing a Deveaux SS20 cardigan and resort shirt," Ton says, explaining that he often wears samples from upcoming collections to get a sense of their drape and feel. Of course, he doesn’t only wear garments from his own label. "I live in these Dries van Noten boxer shorts during summer," he asserts. "And I was hunting for these Céline by Phoebe Philo boots for a long time, so glad they actually fit me. Not sure if Jil Sander actually sold this tote but I guess someone didn’t want it because I found it secondhand."
Easygoing clothes work best for Ton’s often hectic responsibilities, which he sums up as requiring him to be "a jack-of-all-trades."
"I work on everything from design to marketing to everyday business decisions. I’m also very hands on with the design process, everything from the selection of fabrics to silhouettes and proportions for both men and womenswear," he explains.
Though the Canadian-born Ton shuttered his Jak & Jil blog half a decade ago, he continues to shoot street style irregularly, and works on commission for various fashion brands. But above all, the work he put in on the streets of New York, Paris, Tokyo is what inspires Ton to create goods with a sense of permanence and lasting importance.
"When we design, I try to think of the fit from an end result, whether it’ll work in someone’s wardrobe. I want to make sure it doesn’t feel disposable; if no one would want it, why make it?"
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