"Everyone talks about luxury, knows what it looks like and wants it. But luxury is out of reach for most people. If I can sell an affordable version of luxury, that's a great win for our business."
Thomas Hilfiger returned to New York Fashion Week after a two-year absence, riding the wave of "quiet luxury" in fashion and with a hunch that style is making a comeback.
"We're moving away from streetwear to a cleaner look. It's in the air – I can feel it," he says, the Guardian reported.
The brand has long been associated with popular culture and youth through close ties to hip-hop and sports. Invitations borrowing the font and layout of the New Yorker magazine cover greeted guests Friday night at Grand Central Station's Oyster Bar, hosting the first fashion show in its 110-year history.
Martini trays and old fashioned dishes created for a cocktail party atmosphere. In his office the morning after the show, Hilfiger recalled his pre-show nerves. “I was like, are they ever going to sit down? How are we going to start this show?"
Ralph Lauren is out of season, Calvin Klein faded as a catwalk name five years ago, and Marc Jacobs has started staging shows outside of the fashion week schedule. It presented an opportunity for Hilfiger to claim the top spot in American fashion, in the city where he launched his brand in 1985. He seized it, ending the show with a glittering victory lap wearing a varsity jacket and shiny white sneakers.
Hilfiger knows how to present the American dream in a memorable image. Many New York designers make nice clothes, but only he can throw such a party where the first sight upon entering is of the guest Sylvester Stallone eating fries and ketchup.
Hilfiger doesn't pretend to be avant-garde, but it felt the favorable winds of change early and corrected the course of its Americana brand. “Some designers feel the moment too early or too late. In this business, timing is everything.” Price is also critical as high-end luxury brands continue to raise prices. Hilfiger said a camel cashmere coat by Loro Piana, the fine Italian brand made famous by its on-screen appearance in "The Heirs," would cost $6,000. "Ours is $600," he noted.
17 of the 59 models wore baseball caps, the trophy accessory of the moment.
"They are an accessory that everyone wants in their wardrobe now." It is now acceptable to wear a baseball cap with a dress on a restaurant night. We make them in cashmere," stated the designer.
With the exception of one Tommy flag knit sweater, the streetwear codes that have dominated the brand for decades were nowhere to be seen. “I rebelled against the traditional preppy style and made it too laid back and cool. And now we're doing the same thing again, in a way," said the designer about his new take on fashion.
Thomas Hilfiger returns to tradition, so this collection will be released in the fall. /BGNES