* Biography

Born: March 24, 1951
Birthplace: Elmira, New York
Best Known As: Fashion mogul with the blue-white-red rectangle logo


Tommy Hilfiger was the second of nine children. At 18 years old he decided to work in retail. In 1969 Hilfiger drove to New York City where he spent his life savings of $120 on 20 pairs of Landlubber jeans. "This is when his philosophy was first realized, in high school, opening up a store called People's Place." His goal was to bring big city fashion from New York and London to his local community in upstate New York. By the time he was 26, his store had expanded into a chain of seven stores, scattered throughout upstate New York and catering to the college campus crowds. Hilfiger went to design school and began designing clothes for his customers. After running his stores for ten years, the retail market went into an economic slump and he went bankrupt. In 1979 he moved to New York City withi his wife Susan Cirano, to pursue his career as a fashion designer.

* Life In The Big City

When Hilfiger first moved to NYC, he began to work as a freelancer and befriended a number of people in the business, including the late designer Perry Ellis. Within five years Hilfiger was working under contract with Asian textile mogul Mohan Murjani, the man behind the trendy Gloria Vanderbilt jeans. Mohan Murjani was interested in launching a men's clothing line and felt that Hilfiger's entrepreneurial background gave him the unique ability to approach men's fashion in a new way. With the support of Murjani, Hilfiger introduced his first signature collection in 1985, by modernizing button down shirts, chinos, and other time-honored classics. The relaxed, youthful attitude of his first designs has remained a distinctive hallmark throughout all of Hilfiger's subsequent collections.

In 1985, Hilfiger hired legendary ad man George Lois to develop a billboard to place in the center of New York’s Times Square. The now famous “hangman ad” ignited the designer’s career and launched a dynamic and productive relationship between him and Lois. Under Murjani's management, the Tommy Hilfiger mens-wear collection grossed $5 million in the first year and $10 million in the second. However, these were modest sales by fashion industry standards. In 1988, Hilfiger bought out Murjani and joined Silas Chou, a Hong Kong clothing manufacturer. By that time, the company was bringing in around $25 million a year. They began their new endeavor cautiously, hiring experienced executives from well-known companies like Ralph Lauren and Liz Claiborne. Three years later they took the company public.

* Fashion Guru

It was during the 90's when Tommy Hilfiger started making the rounds in the urban fashion scene. He became the fashion guru of the 1990s and the biggest thing to hit the fashion industry in a decade. In the 1990's, he became a pioneer in the industry by featuring emerging music talent in his advertising campaigns. By the mid-1990s he had expanded into women's clothing, eye wear, jewelry, fragrances and home products. His simple designs that emphasize his name as the brand, were not considered high fashion. Luckily, Hilfiger's marketing savvy put him at the top of the industry, and by the end of the 1990s his company had revenues of nearly $2 billion a year. In 1992 he introduced women's sportswear and Tommy Girl fragrance. Four years later he opened up his U.S flagship store on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.
Hilfiger launched his first European products in 1997, as well as an athletic footwear and apparel collection, which was licensed to Stride Rite. The following year he acquired jeanswear, womenswear, and Canadian businesses from licensees. Hilfiger then opened up a flagship store in London, which closed in 2000, and in Mexico City 1999. That same year he launched his women's line in Europe. He also introduced a unisex fragrance called Freedom, and he sponsored rock tours for the likes of Britney Spears and Rolling Stores during its Year of Music. As you can see, 1999 was a huge year for Tommy Hilfiger.

*Award Winning Designer

Hilfiger's diverse achievements have earned him a variety of distinguished awards. He was named Menswear Designer of the Year in 1995 by the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). That same year he received VH1's "From the Catwalk to the Sidewalk" award at their annual Fashion and Music awards. In 1998, Parson's School of Design in New York City, honored him with their Designer of the Year award, as did GQ magazine for their annual "Men of the Year" issue. Hilfiger also won several FiFi awards, which is the fragrance industry's most illustrious honor. Not many people are aware of this, but in 2002, the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) organization presented Hilfiger with the “Future of America Award,” D.A.R.E.’s highest honor, for his philanthropic efforts for America’s youth.

*Impacting Different People In Different Places

In 1995, Hilfiger launched the Tommy Hilfiger Corporate Foundation to enrich the physical and intellectual well being of youth with a major emphasis on education and cultural programs that impact a diverse population. Likewise, he is also actively involved in his fair share of charities and causes. He has served on the Board of Directors for both the Fresh Air Fund, which sends underprivileged kids to summer camp, as well as the Race to Erase MS. Tommy Hilfiger has been a dedicated partner to Dress for Success for many years. Dress for Success is to promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life. 100% proceeds from sales of the accessories, like the limited edition scarfs and neckties Hilfiger designed, benefit Dress for Success.

*Recently Speaking...

Primarily due to declining sales, in 2006, Tommy Hilfiger sold his company for $1.6 billion, or $16.80 a share, to Apax Partners, a private investment company. On December 12, 2008 Hilfiger got married to his second wife, Dee Ocleppo. On February 25, 2009, the New York Post reported that Ocleppo is three months pregnant, which also meant Hilfiger will welcome a fifth child. The couple welcomed a baby boy on Tuesday, August 4, 2009, Sebastian Thomas Hilfiger, weighing in at 9 lbs., 8 oz.


Tommy Hilfiger is still hard at work with designs when he is not spending time with his family. Since 1998, his products can be found in leading department and specialty stores throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Central America, South American, Europe, and the Far East. To further their goal of global expansion, the company looked for industry leaders in markets that shared Tommy Hilfiger, Inc.‘s vision for worldwide growth when arranging licensing agreements. Tommy Hilfiger’s personal role in that vision was to make sure the company’s designs remained fresh and continued to appeal to their respective markets. This past September (2009), he opened up his new global flagship store on Fifth Ave. which offers a comprehensive Tommy Hilfiger lifestyle, from his runway collection to footwear.





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West, Latoya. "Reality Star Bio -- Tommy Hilfiger of The Cut." About.com
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