Though the calendar says the season is still three days away, the weather and everyone’s general attitude confirms that summer has finally arrived. And it looks like the season is already pretty busy for designer Tommy Hilfiger, who just showed his menswear offerings during the London Collection: Men shows across the pond. But the designer looked no worse for wear last night when he hit the red carpet for The Fragrance Foundation Awards. Indeed, Hilfiger mentioned that he was fresh off the plane, having landed in New York City a mere hour and a half (guy must have breezed through customs!) before showing up to Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center for the festivities.
Hilfiger has another big menswear show coming up, as New York will hold its first menswear Fashion Week next month, from July 13 to July 16. Putting on two shows sounds daunting indeed, but Hilfiger says the dual showings are necessary for his brand. “We have an international business and we have an American business,” he told us. “The American business should be shown here and the international business should be shown internationally.” So, if both collections are under the Tommy Hilfiger umbrella, what’s the difference between the two? Hilfiger says it’s all in the aesthetics. “We’re showing more tailored clothing and more suits over there and we’re showing more casual over here.”
Once again, America’s penchant for the comfy-casual rears its head. “We’re a flip-flop, T-shirt and jeans society over here – but they have to be cool,” he added.
As the night was all about fragrance, we couldn’t help but ask Hilfiger if there were any scents that brought back personal memories for him. “I remember the first fragrance I had, it was called English Leather,” he said. “It had a wooden top and it brings back real memories. But my own Tommy fragrance brings back most of my memories because it really changed my life. When I started becoming a real designer brand.”
For Hilfiger, his fragrance brings back memories of success in business. For us, it brings back memories of successfully receiving our first kiss. In sum, everyone touched by the Tommy fragrance is a winner.
