Tom Ford to design women's wear

(AFP/FILIPPO MONTEFORTE)

The designer and men's style guru has told Women's Wear Daily that he will launch his own women's range "very soon."

Ford, who previously designed women's wear as creative director for Gucci, said that he and his business partner Domenico de Sole were currently on the lookout for financing, but that the new line was likely to launch next fall.

The news confirm persistent rumors of a possible Ford women's range; it is the first time that the designer has gone on the record with his new plans.

Ford is currently promoting his first movie, the fashion-unrelated A Single Man, in Tokyo. His first store in the city, a shop-in-shop at department store Isetan, also just opened last month.