Tommy Hilfiger: «I am back with a show in New York»

«This is where we started. It was time to come back to support Nyfw», Tommy Hilfiger told MFF during an exclusive interview at the european headquarters that houses the brand's campus in Amsterdam. However, it will not be just a traditional fashion show. «Over the past two years, we have learned that physical and digital are part of the same reality», Hilfiger explained, who was among the pioneers of the metaverse with an initial show and store opening on Decentraland. The brand, part of US giant Pvh, ended 2021 with sales of 9.3 billion dollars (about 9 billion euros), up by 29%, and chose New York to return to fashion shows in attendance after two years. The creative is also accelerating on sustainability by linking up with singer Shawn Mendes, who in the campaign wore a collection inspired by the brand's founding year, 1985, made of organic cotton and post-consumer recycled denim. «Shawn is not only a very talented musician, but also represents a new generation of future makers who fully understand the need for action», Hilfiger pointed out.

In September you will be back on the runway in New York. How important is Fashion Week in the Big Apple to Tommy Hilfiger?

Every fashion show abroad has been a new experience for us, but it is important to come home to New York, to support Nyfw but also to be rooted back in America. This is where we started. We are still inspired by the US and its icons.

The September show will have a new formula...

There will be a new format, Tommy Play, which mixes reality and virtuality. I think it is the future because I believe we must go in the direction of consumers and the community. The community lives on video games, it lives in the metaverse, it buys both digitally and physically. So, I think the mix of both is really important for our future.

Is phygital a matter of age or a matter of mentality?

Definitely a mentality thing because there are no limits. A mix of physical and virtual can be practiced at my age as well as at 14.

What has changed in the fashion world and specifically for your brand in these two years off the runways?

There has been more interaction between physical and digital. Today the two worlds are inseparable. Last march we embraced the idea of walking in the metaverse for the first time on the 3D virtual runways of Decentraland. I think the metaverse will be particularly important. Gen Z and all young people will live in this virtual universe. 

You grew up among pop icons such as David Bowie. Who are today’s pop icons?

Gamers are certainly among the new pop icons. Gaming involves players, who for each game choose an avatar: skin color, hair color, and then they have to dress their avatar. If their friends see them in their virtual dimension and they like what they are wearing, many will also buy a physical garment or look.

There is a new generation of singers, which can be a channel to reach young people. Who are you following?

Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish. Have you heard of Jon Batista? He is so talented and very cool. However, right now as a musician we have Shawn who is amazing. But there are so many now, such as Jack Harlow, for example...

It is funny because in Italy we have a new generation of stylists who dress music icons. What about in the US?

Law Roach is the number one stylist in the US. He won the Stylist of the Year Award in Hollywood. He is fantastic. He now dresses all of Hollywood. He just collaborated with Hervé Legér. Few people knew him, and then after the collaboration with Zendaya he started dressing even more Hollywood and music stars.

The effect of social media is incredible...

Instagram, InstaStories, TikTok. Social media is moving increasingly forward. Video game enthusiasts shop while on Twitch. Video games range from sports to decorating to sort of styling and modeling. All of that is great.

Shawn Mendes is just the latest star you have collaborated with. From Gigi Hadid and Lewis Hamilton to Zendaya, what do you get from co-labs?

They have all been true collaborations with full involvement in design. However, this time we want to do something even more different, we want to move forward.

Mendes has a strong commitment to the environment. Does his collaboration cover a range of green projects?

The collaboration with Shawn Mendes began with the classics Reborn campaign, made of organic cotton and 20% post-consumer recycled denim.

Going back to the concept of pop icons, what do you think of Kim Kardashian?

I think she is one of the smartest young businesswomen in the world. In two years, Skims has reached 3.2 billion dollars (3.2 billion euros) and her make-up line has reached around 2 billion dollars. If we combine Kris, Kourtney, Kim, Khloé, Kendall and Kylie’s followers, the whole family has more than 1.5 billion people following them. They have more audience than Cnn. (All rights reserved)