The verdict everyone’s been waiting for on Tom Ford’s first women’s show since 2004: probably the best fun that’s been had in fashion since anyone can remember. All the pre-gossip about celebrities modeling at the strictly exclusive, unlisted event at his menswear store at 845 Madison Avenue was true. No one is allowed to review or see pictures of the collection until Mr. Ford releases photographs and the film footage that (unsurprisingly) he was recording. A stern pre-show voiceover cautioned: “The use of photo or recording devices is prohibited.” But Vogue creative director Grace Coddington and European editor-at-large Hamish Bowles managed to sneak in a few sketches (above). What we can’t resist describing is the hugely enjoyable, utterly camp, and hilarious atmosphere of the louchely intimate seventies-nightclub-flavored and wholly lady-friendly happening Mr. Ford kicked up when he stood and introduced his cast of “many of the world’s most inspirational women.”

Gone was the sterile, slightly intimidating style of the Gucci/YSL Ford years. Here instead was the designer personally announcing a starry roster of fabulous friends of every age, ethnicity, and shape, and detailing—in tongue-in-cheek, old-fashioned couture speak—the specifics of what they were wearing: “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Ms. Farida Khelfa. Ms. Liya Kebede. Ms. Lauren Hutton. Ms. Natalia Vodianova. Ms. Lakshmi Menon. Ms. Stella Tennant. Ms. Beyoncé Knowles. Ms. Amber Valletta. Ms. Rinko Kikuchi. Ms. Karen Elson. Ms. Daphne Guinness. Ms. Marisa Berenson. Ms. Karlie Kloss. Ms. Rita Wilson. Ms. Julianne Moore.” And on it went.                         

As all the models reappeared for the requisite final turn, it became, inevitably, a free-for-all, friend-to-friend chat-a-thon with the guests.                          

The clothes? Well, the world will just have to wait a bit to see how great they were. (And they were great!)                        

But here, for the record, are three overheards. Karen Elson: “He made each of us look the best we have, ever.” Natalia Vodianova: “I don’t know what it was like for you out here, but back there—the combination of women! Everyone was so warm, so nervous, and so excited.” And from Rita Wilson, who basked in her pose-and-wiggle turn and brought the house down in the process, a summative phrase which should be a lesson to fashion beyond this launch: “What he did was give all of us permission to be ourselves.”