Tommy Hilfiger’s anatomy

Tommy Hilfiger is synonymous with American style.

In thirty years of life the brand has created fashions and trends, has shaped the taste of entire generations, has marked the custom of all 90s hip hop and, even today, is loved by common people and celebrities like Bruno Mars , A $ AP Rocky or Gigi Hadid.

But all that glitters is not all gold and Hilfiger's story is also made up of several failures.

The secret? Apparently never give up.

That's how a guy from New York State opened his first store with $ 150 and turned him into an empire of over $ 4.6 billion.

Brand history

The beginnings

Tommy Hilfiger was born and raised in Elmira, a small town in the State of New York, in a large Irish Catholic family. His father was a jeweler, his mother a nurse and he was the second of nine children. At school he is not very good and, having become a teenager he dreams of a career in American football, but, unfortunately, he is not even cut to become a professional player.

At the age of 18, with little hope of entering the university, she decides to open together with two friends a small shop called People's Place, where she sells rock n 'roll posters, records, incense, bell-bottoms and other items worn by the stars of rock that loves so much.

At the beginning the commercial adventure is a success, but soon Tommy ends up bankrupt. At the age of 25, the boy knows nothing about business and simply finishes the money. He is also distracted by the social life of New York, and by locals like Studio 54, where he spends most of his time, neglecting his work.

What he lost in money, however, earned him in contacts, many made right on the dance floor of Studio 54, and, at 25, is ready to start all over again.

It is 1985 when, with the help of Indian fashion magnate Mohan Murjani, he founded the Tommy Hilfiger Corporation.

Hilfiger's first entrepreneurial move is to raise a budget of $ 200,000 and turn to George Lois, then one of the most respected art directors in circulation, for an advertising campaign.

The result is a huge billboard at Times Square, a kind of hangman game with the inscription "The 4 greatest American male designers are R____ L_____, P____ E____, C_____ K____, T____ H_______", ie Ralph Lauren, Perry Ellis, Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger himself.

The success is viral and resounding and within a few days everyone knows the name of the new designer and go crazy for his "preppy" fashion, a mix of classic and casual with vibrant graphics.

The 90s

Hilfiger has always dreamed of being a rock star like Mick Jagger or Jimmy Hendrix and also having the same look. This is why he begins his adventure in the fashion world, but it will be hip-hop that turns his brand into an icon.

In 1992, Grand Puba appears in an episode of Yo! MTV Raps to promote his song What's the 411?. In his outfit there are a Fila hat, a pair of Nike sneakers, Girbaud denim shorts and, above all, a Polo Ralph Lauren shirt.

1994. Snoop Dogg performs at Saturday Night Live wearing a rugby tee with the characteristic colors of the brand (red, white and blue) and the big writing "Tommy".

In a moment the sales of the head skyrocketed and all the biggest stars of the R & B world, from TLC or Destiny's Child to Aaliyah (later become the brand's spokesperson in 1997), choose Hilfiger for their looks.

For Elmira's designer, a golden period begins: he launches the youngest and most sporty label Tommy Jeans, incorporates hip-hop in fashion shows, in 1996 he was elected Menswear Designer of the Year by the Council of Fashion Designers of America and reaches a turnover of $ 320 million. Closes the decade in 1999 as the main sponsor of Britney Spears' Baby One More Time tour, the latest hit before the umpteenth disaster.

The 2000s

"We were becoming so popular, but we kept the car running too long. We ended up weakening the brand, I felt it was happening but it was like jumping on a train that cannot be stopped. There was so much demand for the product and at the time we were also a public company, so we needed to push up the stock price and then we pushed and pushed and pushed... We had saturated the demand too much. Our logo was everywhere, we had reached the point that no one wanted to know anything about it".

With these words Hilfiger will try to explain how his brand has gone from the incredible success of the 90s to the 2000s crisis.

The company continues between strong difficulties and sudden collapse of sales until, in 2006, an investment fund, Apax Partners, acquires it for 1.6 billion dollars.

The plan to raise the fortunes of Tommy Hilfiger Corporation is simple: return to the DNA of the brand, to the preppy style with affordable prices that made the initial success.

As if by magic, sales soon start to grow again.

With the confidence of the buyers regained, the designer is ready to face the second decade of the new millennium with fresh ideas and farsighted projects. The most fruitful? The introduction in 2016 of the TommyNow fashion shows, pioneer of the "see now buy now" and the partnership with the model and it-girl Gigi Hadid.

Style

The Tommy Hilfiger brand is known as the quintessential classic American style, made of blazers with golden buttons, college jackets, polo shirts, chinos, denim pieces, prints and bright colors.

It is traditional, but also casual, nautical, sporty, free, young, easy, which makes you confident.

It fuses pop culture with the preppy lifestyle of the east coast, films like Dead Poets Society and Love Story with the typical clothing of the Ivy League schools.

"I knew exactly what I wanted to do: I wanted to build some kind of lifestyle brand that was preppy and cool" - Hilfiger told in an interview with The Guardian explaining his fashion and continued saying - "I do not just create clothes, but a way to be. The formula is: cool American classic. I try to keep a light touch in everything, to never take myself too seriously, because at the bottom I remain the rock kid who listened to Beatles, Stones and Hendrix. My style is relaxed, irreverent, fun".

Iconic moments

1985 ad campaign

"When we launched, I teamed up with George Lois to do a series of ads that compared me to all the designers I’d idolised for so long – Ralph Lauren, Perry Ellis, Calvin Klein,"Hilfiger reminisces in his 1997 book All-American. "It was a gutsy move, and I’d be lying if I said I was entirely comfortable with it at the time. But Mohan, Joel, and George convinced me to go for it, to leapfrog the competition in marketing. It worked."

1996: Aaliyah

In 1996 Aaliyah became the muse and face of Tommy Hilfiger's female line, but also its most important supporter.

During her career in the advertising campaigns of the brand, she wore its garments on the red carpet, on music videos and live, creating a new style that would be copied by a generation of women.

SS 1997 Fashion Show

In the mid-90s Hilfiger is at the height of success and its connection with hip pop is very strong. The fashion show of the SS97 collection is one of the best examples, it is pure fashiontainment: Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Valeria Mazza and other models on the catwalk while the Naughty by Nature perform live.

Getting Some Satisfaction

"Music, specifically rock and roll, has always been my passion and inspiration," Hilfiger said several times.

The brand has become for the designer the vehicle to realize his dream and know many of his myths, from the Rolling Stones, for which he sponsored in 1999 the No Security tour, to David Bowie and with his wife Iman was the protagonist of the advertising campaign shot in 2003 by Ellen von Unwerth.

"The Hilfigers"

After the audacious debut in the world of advertising, the designer of Elmira has found the perfect formula for his campaigns: "The Hilfigers" group photo, a crew, a nice family and those who dress cool Tommy Hilfigers.

It is an elite that many would like to join.

#TommyNow

"It’s a new era at Tommy Hilfiger". - the designer explained -  "We’re breaking the old-school rules of the runway and giving instant access to our Fall 2016 Hilfiger Collection and the new TommyXGigi capsule. This is the show I’ve always wanted to present. A true democratization of fashion".

And he said also:

"My vision for TommyNow was to create a global platform that we could take on tour to bring our show experience to new audiences around the world,” Hilfiger said. “It’s about the fusion of fashion, entertainment and pop culture and experiences, performances and inspiring interactions that are designed around our consumers".

Tommy & Gigi

"I’ve known Gigi and her family for years, and it has been amazing to watch her grow into one of the world’s top models and most-followed fashion influencers". - said Tommy Hilfiger - "Gigi has walked in our runway shows and now we are thrilled to continue our collaboration with her as the new face of Tommy Hilfiger womenswear and fragrance. She is truly the definition of today’s Tommy Girl — her magnetic personality is bright and always optimistic, and her style is confident, effortless and cool".