All About Tom Ford’s Son Alexander John Buckley Ford

Tom Ford has made his way to the top of the fashion world after years in the industry and has held multiple roles along the way, from creative director to film director. Despite his demanding career in fashion, Ford is also a dedicated father to his now 11-year-old son, Alexander John Buckley Ford.

Ford welcomed his son in Los Angeles on Sept. 23, 2012, alongside his late husband, Richard Buckley, whom he married in a private ceremony in 2014.

The pair had been together since 1986, and Buckley was Ford’s biggest fan throughout his career.

“He sees everything, down to the last detail. I’ve actually never known anyone else with the ability to be so observant or precise. Nothing gets by him,” Buckley wrote about his husband in a posthumous column. “And let’s just say he can be a little imperious in his work, but then he wouldn’t be where he is today if he wasn’t unyieldingly in command.”

Ford spoke in the past about his desire to have children, as well as the way he would handle it publicly if it happened. “If I have children, no one will know about it until the child is born. And no one will ever see the child because I certainly wouldn’t use it as a press tool,” he once said in a 2011 interview with Time Out Hong Kong. “If I have a child, you won’t notice that I had a child. Maybe you’ll see it when it’s 18, but I will keep it out of the spotlight.”

The designer has kept to this promise, and his son’s life has been private with very little time in the spotlight.

Here’s everything you need to know about Tom Ford’s son, Alexander John Buckley Ford.

He was born via surrogate

Ford and Buckley chose to have their son via surrogate, and he was born in Los Angeles on Sept. 23, 2012.

He goes by the nickname “Jack”

While Ford and Buckley’s son’s full name is Alexander John Buckley Ford, the preteen is referred to by his dad, and those who know him, by the nickname “Jack.”

“He has a very long fancy name, but I call him Jack,” Ford once said in an interview with Vogue’s Andre Leon Talley.

He is being raised in Los Angeles

Jack was born in the West Coast city and is being raised there by Ford. His upbringing is different from that of his dad, who was born in Austin, Texas, and spent much of his life in New York City.

Ford is a hands-on dad

When talking to Vogue‘s André Leon Talley about the transition into fatherhood, Ford discussed the hands-on way he approached his new role.

“I feed him in the morning, I change his diaper, I dress him, I play with him, and I have a good two-to-three hours before I go to the office, just me and Jack,” he told Vogue.

Added the designer, “I didn’t have a child because I wanted to hand him off to somebody, I had a child because I’ve always wanted a child.”

The routine has changed since the death of Ford’s husband, however, as he has adjusted to another new phase in his life. “It’s been hard after 35 years, very hard,” Ford told The Wall Street Journal in an interview.

“Until recently, I had Richard to help me out in the mornings. It’s been a little bit of a struggle the last month because he would normally get [Jack’s] breakfast on school days while I was getting dressed,” he further explained. “I’ve gotten pretty good at it, but it’s a challenge to get him up, dressed, get his lunch made, get his lunch packed, get his breakfast done, get all my things done, and then I drive him to school at 7:45.”

He’s got designer sensibilities

Being a designer’s son means that 11-year-old Jack dresses with the sensibilities of his father.

Ford told The Wall Street Journal that he won’t let Jack wear shorts to school, and that he only recently started allowing him to don graphic T-shirts.

“I’ll say to him, “You’re never wearing shorts to school. Don’t ask again. Not happening. When you turn 18, you can wear whatever you want,” Ford said.

“I think I am, by nature, a more formal, old-fashioned person,” he added.