New York ? There are worse places to find yourself at a crossroads than on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, which is exactly where Tom Ford is as he leaves the world of fashion and, possibly, enters the world of entertainment.

Ford, the creative director at Gucci Group, is the second recipient of the Rodeo Drive Walk of Style Award, receiving a permanent plaque on one of the most famous shopping streets in the world. It’s inscribed with Ford’s words: “Beauty is a powerful thing. It can add enormously to the quality of life.”

In his eyes, fashion can be as beautiful as a blue sky or a dramatic mountain.

“Fashion can be put down as being frivolous, and the pursuit of beauty and beautiful things is called frivolous, but I think they really can be beautiful things if you let yourself enjoy them and let them enhance your life,” Ford says.

Fashion, though, isn’t about the clamor for the season’s must-have piece; it should be more personal and more artistic than that, he says.

Either way, these really are no longer the concerns of Ford, who is in the midst of a very public split with Gucci Group, home of the Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent collections that have become eponymous with the designer.

His final designs have come and gone on the runways.

Bittersweet moment

He recently told the trade paper Women’s Wear Daily that he’d now like to direct movies and he’s signed with Creative Artists Agency, making the Rodeo award, which salutes designers who successfully marry style and entertainment, an apropos coincidence.

“Tom Ford is quite natural for this. We honor those whose contributions to fashion and Hollywood are parallel. This is indicative of Tom Ford’s impact on the industry,” says Peri Ellen Berne, chairwoman of the Rodeo Drive Walk of Style Committee.

“Pretty much right after Giorgio Armani (who received the inaugural award in 2003), we knew it would be Tom Ford,” she says.

The committee, made up of merchants, landowners and hoteliers, choose the winner from a nomination list submitted by a group of academics, fashion and movie industry insiders.

Berne says selecting Ford had nothing to do with his departure from Gucci or the industry. But, she adds, “We’re thrilled that we can pay tribute to him in our own special way.”

This certainly is a bittersweet moment in his life, Ford, 42, acknowledges. “I don’t think of this as a lifetime achievement award, maybe for my lifetime in fashion but not my whole life.”

Asked if there is a single garment or collection he is most proud of, Ford says “no.” Then, after a pause, he elaborates: “Fashion for me isn’t so much about a single season or garment. I’ve done so much that I’m proud of … but I’m most proud of the consistent Gucci look.”

Fashion for others

It’s a look that is familiar to many, from Charlize Theron’s shimmering gown at this year’s Oscars to the sexy slashed dresses that became a signature. There also are the updated Gucci logo-covered handbags and the horn-handled Mombasa purse for YSL.

Actress Rita Wilson, who with her husband Tom Hanks, was presenting Ford with his Walk of Style award, believes that Ford will succeed in his next endeavor. “Tom Ford combines a certain elegance and style with a human touch. He’s got a wicked sense of humor and the fashion world will be at a loss with him gone,” she says in a written statement.

For the most part, Ford says he concentrated on designing garments that would appeal to shoppers, not specifically celebrities. But, he adds, if celebrities happened to like what he was offering and would go into stores and buy the pieces — that’s icing on the cake.

What celebrities wear is an important influence on what the rest of the world wears, according to Ford, which makes Los Angeles a very important place on the fashion map. “It’s a filter of style,” he describes.

Ford, who’ll split his time between homes in Los Angeles and London, laughs a little at his own wardrobe.

“I’m really quite classic. I wear almost the same thing every day, a dark suit and a white shirt. For evening, a velvet jacket, a white shirt and dark trousers,” he says. “It’s almost a uniform.”