Background
Mr. Hilfiger was born on March 24, 1951 in Elmira, New York, United States. He was born to jeweler Richard and nurse Virginia and was the second born of nine children.
Designer Tommy Hilfiger at Tommy Hilfiger Celebrates Tommy Week at Macy's With GQ and Hilfiger Fragrance at Lincoln Center during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week on September 9, 2008 in New York City.
Jeffrey Banks, John Varvatos, Donna Karan, Tommy Hilfiger and others pose onstage during the 2018 CFDA Fashion Awards at Brooklyn Museum on June 4, 2018 in New York.
Exterior of a Tommy Hilfiger store in Tokyo, Japan, in 2008.
Tommy Hilfiger Women's - Alternative Views - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015.
Tommy Hilfiger Women's - Backstage - Spring 2013 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.
Designer Tommy Hilfiger walks down the ruway at the Macy's Passport Gala to Benefit HIV AIDS Research and Awareness on September 30, 2004 in Santa Monica, California.
Eelmira Free Academy.
GST BOCES Bush Campus.
Designer Tommy Hilfiger and actor Billy Zane at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center on February 9, 2016 in New York City.
Young Tommy Hilfiger.
Young Tommy Hilfiger.
Designer Tommy Hilfiger at Tommy Hilfiger Celebrates Tommy Week at Macy's With GQ and Hilfiger Fragrance at Lincoln Center during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week on September 9, 2008 in New York City.
Jeffrey Banks, John Varvatos, Donna Karan, Tommy Hilfiger and others pose onstage during the 2018 CFDA Fashion Awards at Brooklyn Museum on June 4, 2018 in New York.
Tommy Hilfiger Fall 2010 Fashion Show - Backstage.
Designer Tommy Hilfiger walks down the ruway at the Macy's Passport Gala to Benefit HIV AIDS Research and Awareness on September 30, 2004 in Santa Monica, California.
Exterior of a Tommy Hilfiger store in Tokyo, Japan, in 2008.
Tommy Hilfiger Women's - Alternative Views - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015.
Tommy Hilfiger Women's - Backstage - Spring 2013 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.
(In this tale of grit and glamour, setbacks and comebacks,...)
In this tale of grit and glamour, setbacks and comebacks, business and pop culture icon Tommy Hilfiger shares his extraordinary life story for the first time.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1101886218/?tag=2022091-20
(New England, where our nation was born, holds a very spec...)
New England, where our nation was born, holds a very special place in America's heart. It's a place we look to for its history, its landscape, its picturesque small towns, its trees, its coastline, its cuisine, and its inimitable style. The ultimate portrait of the best examples of the American Northeast, New England, a lavish volume guided by all-American designer Tommy Hilfiger, distills the essence of the region in a fresh, luxurious, and entirely unprecedented way, covering in detail the best Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Connecticut have to offer.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0847826619/?tag=2022091-20
(A renowned fashion designer and an expert on interior des...)
A renowned fashion designer and an expert on interior design join forces to present a stunning portrait of authentic New England, presenting more than two hundred full-color photographs of the region's most picturesque homes and getaways, accompanied by personal profiles and favorite New England activities and recipes.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0847825833/?tag=2022091-20
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0789303833/?tag=2022091-20
(Tommy Hilfiger, one of the most successful American desig...)
Tommy Hilfiger, one of the most successful American designers of the 1990s, has always looked to the unpretentious things that are classically American for his inspiration. Organized by days, nights, and weekends, this extraordinary resource and style book shows how Hilfiger's open-minded approach to fashion helps people to arrive at their own personal styles.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1862052751/?tag=2022091-20
(What is America? It’s Monopoly and Mickey Mouse, but also...)
What is America? It’s Monopoly and Mickey Mouse, but also Sinatra and Fred Astaire. It’s the Declaration of Independence, but it’s also Barbie and Playboy, Winslow Homer and Rudi Gernreich’s topless bathing suit. This juxtaposition of images reflects America’s unique eclecticism, and the unprecedented influence that the images of America’s pop culture have had on the world. This book works as a great treasury of Americana, and as a mischievously enjoyable observation on all things truly American. Fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger and famous adman George Lois have crafted an enlightening book, searching American history to find over 350 people, symbols, and things of import.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0789315734/?tag=2022091-20
Mr. Hilfiger was born on March 24, 1951 in Elmira, New York, United States. He was born to jeweler Richard and nurse Virginia and was the second born of nine children.
Tommy Hilfiger attended Elmira Free Academy in high school, where he was neither a star athlete (he was so small, he had to sneak 15-pound weights in his pockets to get on the football team) or student (he suffered from undiagnosed dyslexia). He graduated from it in 1970 and later went on to attend the GST BOCES Bush Campus. Even as a teenager he exhibited creative his talent - he would buy jeans, remodel them and sell them.
When Mr. Hilfiger was 18, he opened a store called The People's Place in Elmira that sold hippie supplies like bell-bottoms, incense and records. Wildly successful at first, Tommy Hilfiger soon had a chain of stores and a six-figure income - a downturn in the economy hit his business hard, and he filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1977. In 1979, he began to pursue a full-fledged career in the field of fashion designing.
In 1984, Mr. Hilfiger was approached by Indian entrepreneur Mohan Murjani, who was looking for a designer to head a men's sportswear line. With the help of Mr. Murjani Tommy Hilfiger launched his first signature collection in 1985. The collection included chinos, button-down shirts and other classic fabrics. The same year he launched a successful marketing campaign, hiring the legendary ad man, George Lois. They came out with a billboard in the center of New York’s Times Square. Tommy Hilfiger left Murjani International in 1989, with Silas Chou instead providing financial backing to the Hilfiger brand, and former executives of Ralph Lauren brought on board as executives of the newly formed company Tommy Hilfiger, Inc.
The Tommy Hilfiger Corporation went public in 1992, introducing Mr. Hilfiger's signature menswear collection. In the 1990s, the hip-hop world chose to sport his designs and music personalities like Lenny Kravitz and Aaliyah were part of his advertising campaigns. By this time his designs topped the range of $25 million. In 1992, he designed clothes for musician Snoop Doggy Dogg, when the latter made his appearance on the TV show, Saturday Night Live. Soon he became a big name and other artists started wearing his designs.
After licensing Pepe Jeans USA in 1995, in 1996, Tommy Hilfiger Inc. began distributing women's clothing. By the end of the next year Mr. Hilfiger had opened his first store in Beverly Hills, which was followed by a store in London in 1998. he was serving as the company's co-chairman by 1997. In 1999, he was named as one of the main sponsors of singer Britney Spears and her debut concert tour, Baby One More Time Tour, in support of her debut album of the same name.
Around the year 2000, his professional success began to dwindle down and he started suffering from financial troubles. His designs started losing their popularity with the hip-hop artists and sales went down by 75 per cent. In 2005, he was the host and the sponsor of the show titled, The Cut. This gave chance to the winning contestant to work in close collaboration with him and together come out with a designer collection. As a consequence of declining sales, in 2006, he sold his company for $1.6 billion, or $16.80 a share, to the private investment company, Apax Partners. The following year, he signed a deal with the departmental chain, Macy’s.
In 2009, the company tried its luck at online marketing with the launch of their website, www.hilfigerdenim.com. This website gives users the privilege to view the latest cutting-edge Hilfiger Denim collections. In March 2010, Tommy Hilfiger Corporation was purchased by the American clothing business, Phillips-Van Heusen for $3 billion.
Tommy Hilfiger was instrumental in the creation of the Marc Anthony Collection in 2012, as Marc Anthony had never been interested in the fashion business until Hilfiger called him and convinced him a line was worthwhile.
Today Mr. Hilfiger continues to be the principal designer of his brand, and there are more than 1,400 of his stores in 90 countries. In 2016, he took his "classic American cool" looks in a new direction. He partnered with Runway of Dreams to create a line of adaptive clothing for children with disabilities. The same year he collaborated with model Gigi Hadid on clothing designs launching the TommyXGigi clothing collection. On February 8, 2017, the brand will hold its ready-to-wear show in Los Angeles, in the first time the brand will not be part of New York Fashion Week.
Founder of one of the world’s most premium luxury lifestyle brands, Thomas Hilfiger is known as a creative genius behind the billion dollar enterprise, the 'Tommy Hilfiger Corporation'. He went on to become one of the wealthiest designers in the market, catering to the needs of hip-hop artists and music industry biggies. His innovative and loud advertising campaigns went a long way in helping him establish in the fashion industry. No other American designer of his time, managed to prominently put their name and logo on clothes, like the way he did.
Mr. Hilfiger has received a great number of awards for his works, for instance, he was named Menswear Designer of the Year (Council of Fashion Designers of America) in 1995, Designer of the Year (Parsons School of Design in New York City) in 1998 etc. Besides, in 2009 he received the UNESCO Support Award and the Marie Claire Lifetime Achievement Award.
(A renowned fashion designer and an expert on interior des...)
(Tommy Hilfiger, one of the most successful American desig...)
(In this tale of grit and glamour, setbacks and comebacks,...)
(New England, where our nation was born, holds a very spec...)
(What is America? It’s Monopoly and Mickey Mouse, but also...)
Mr. Hilfiger was raised a Catholic.
Quotations:
"The road to success is not easy to navigate, but with hard work, drive and passion, it's possible to achieve the American dream."
"But I think, if you're in the spotlight, people are going to say bad things, and that's just the way it is."
"It was difficult for me because I was searching for the answer for so long, and the answer was right in front of me. Do what I do best."
"I think it's dangerous to think that you're successful, because then you become complacent."
"You want to look fashionable and put-together, not like you hit every sale rack this season."
"I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to build some kind of lifestyle brand that was preppy and cool."
"I looked at my competitors and I thought that, If they could do it, I could do it. And if, they are popular and doing well, I could compete with them."
"If I see someone wearing Hilfiger it makes me proud, but then I wonder what I could do to make the style more relevant for them next year?"
"We are going back to our roots by cultivating new unsigned talent who otherwise might go unnoticed."
In 1976 Tommy Hilfiger met Susan Cirona, an employee at the People’s Place in Ithaca, and they married in 1980. Together they have four children. In 2003 Mr. Hilfiger's daughter Ally was part of the MTV reality series Rich Girls. His son, Richard ("Ricky Hil"), is a musician. After divorcing in 2000, on December 12, 2008, Tommy Hilfiger married his second wife Dee Ocleppo Hilfiger. The couple welcomed son Sebastian in August 2009.
