Tom Ford took over as Gucci’s Creative director in 1994. Ten years later the storied label’s annual sales rose from $230 million per year, to $3 billion. After a decade at Gucci, Ford took a risk and started his own fashion line, the Tom Ford Brand–now a fashion powerhouse.

But Ford made perhaps his greatest creative leap in 2009 when he directed his first feature film, A Single Man. Based on the book by Christopher Isherwood, Ford felt a kinship with material, but struggled to make it into a movie.

“I had such respect for Christopher Isherwood and for the book A Single Man, I was trying to be quite literal with it which didn't work because it was an interior monologue.

And and I was having dinner with Don Bacardi one night who actually said to me don't worry about it. That's a book. Chris wrote it. It's a book. It'll forever be a book. You have to make a movie make the movie you think it should be.”

The film cemented Ford’s place in Hollywood, and his much anticipated follow up, Nocturnal Animals, was was recently released to wide critical acclaim and actress Amy Adams is in contention to win an Oscar this year for her performance in the film.

Ford says, “People often ask me how did you go from working in fashion to directing a film. The process is actually surprisingly similar. In that you have to have something to say.“

WSJ. Magazine 2016 Innovator Awards

Curiosity, authenticity, and a deep commitment to the craft. These are some of the defining characteristics of the WSJ. Magazine 2016 Innovators–an outstanding group of individuals recognized for setting new ground in their fields. Seven trailblazing talents, all of whom are featured in the magazine’s November issue, were honored among more than 200 guests for their groundbreaking accomplishments in their respective disciplines on November 2nd at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Selected by WSJ. Magazine editors, the honorees were: Melinda Gates (Philanthropy); Ai Weiwei (Art); Tom Ford (Film); The Weeknd (Music); Daniel Humm and Will Guidara (Food)); Es Devlin (Design) and Snøhetta’s Craig Dykers and Kjetil Thorsen (Architecture).

For the second year in a row, MediaStorm has used its multidisciplinary approach to create films that shine a light on the legacies and innovations of each individual. These films showcase some of MediaStorm’s greatest strengths: an ability to develop a captivating story under tight constraints; combining beautiful cinematography and motion graphics to add unparalleled finesse; and working in close partnership with a client to get results.

These videos have been a critical part of WSJ’s strategy to drive it's audience to its site and to assert itself as the place of significance for the informed citizen.

In keeping with our mission to develop stories that matter, we are thrilled to play a role in recognizing the WSJ. Magazine 2016 Innovators.

Shorter versions of these films premiered at the WSJ. Magazine 2016 Innovator Awards on November 2nd at the Museum of Modern Art. The digital versions premiered on wsj.com and mediastorm.com on November 3 and have been a critical component of helping WSJ drive audeinces to its site.

With five global editions spanning 62 countries, WSJ. Magazine—which publishes 12 issues a year—is The Wall Street Journal's luxury-lifestyle publication dedicated to the power and passions of the Journal's readership.