Tom Ford has never been one to play by fashion’s rules. His tenure at Gucci – during which he injected the house with serious, and at times controversial, sex appeal – is testament to that. This season, he’s shown his maverick side again, debuting his SS16 collection not via a runway show, but in a film shot by Nick Knight, starring the queen of pop Lady Gaga. 

The film takes the form of a music video, in which Gaga performs a reprise of Chic’s “I Want Your Love”. Rather than walking down the catwalk (which is illuminated, Saturday Night Fever style) the models dance, in what appears to be an ode to 70s television show Soul Train. “I have always loved (that show),” the designer told WWD. “It was as much about the clothes as the music.”

“Instead of having a traditional show this season, I decided to try something new,” he continued. “I wanted to think about how to present a collection in a cinematic way that was designed from its inception to be presented online.”

The racially diverse cast of models includes social media phenomenon and the brand’s AW15 campaign star Lucky Blue Smith, alongside fellow male models Alex Dunstan, David Agbodji and Tarun Nijjer – the latter of which was the first model of Indian descent to open a Burberry show. The female line-up includes Mica Arganaraz and Lexi Boling, both of whom you may recognise from the Versace show.

This season we’ve seen a several designers eschew traditional fashion presentations, from Givenchy’s Riccardo Tisci who decided to open the house’s Marina Abramović directed show up to the public, to Anrealage’s Kunihiko Morinaga whose show had to be watched through an iPhone. It’s no surprise that Ford has joined this gang of designers choosing to showcase their collections in new and exciting ways.

Watch Tom Ford’s SS16 campaign video below, featuring Mica Arganaraz, Lexi Boling, Kayla Scott, Xiao Wen Ju, Valery Kaufman, Aymeline Valade, Lida Fox, Lucky Blue Smith, Alex Dunstan, David Agbodji and Tarun Nijjer: