Tom Ford is one of the most influential names in fashion. And he is using his voice to continue the necessary fight against AIDS.

The 53-year-old fashion icon, who is frequently celebrated by stars like Jay Z, Beyoncé, Gwyneth Paltrow, Rihanna, and Miley Cyrus, spoke at the amfAR Inspiration Gala in Los Angeles on Wednesday (Oct. 29), an event which benefits AIDS research. Ford was honored with the Inspiration Award and gave a particularly moving speech about his recollection of the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

"I moved to New York in 1979 just before my 18th birthday," said Ford (via E! News). "Of my close friends at NYU, more than half of them had died from AIDS by 1990."

"I remember the fear of the early 1980s," Ford continued. "I remember the feeling of having dinner with a friend and running into someone I hadn't seen and the light would rack across their face and my heart just sank-you knew. They looked fine but there was something. There was something in their eyes. There was something about the look on their faces that told you that the next time you saw them they wouldn't look as well."

The fashion designer then talked about dating his now-husband Richard Buckley amidst that scary atmosphere.

"We would meet for dinner and then we would each go to a different hospital to visit our best friends who were dying of AIDS," said Ford.

He and Buckley both got tested for HIV in 1988 and while neither had the frightening disease, Richard's test results came back with some unexpected news.  

"I remember Richard calling me in tears with his results to tell me joyfully that he only had stage four cancer and not HIV," said Ford. "Who could have imagined that only having stage four cancer was something to celebrate?"

The star fashion designer finished his speech by urging people of all generations to not only continue the fight against HIV/AIDS but also to reject the notion that the disease is fading into the past.

"Today's generation of young adults have never known the ravages of AIDS as some of us have and for that reason, in some cases, they have let down their guard," he said. "We cannot let down our guard."