Is Tommy Hilfiger growing up?
Remember when Tommy Hilfiger was 90s cool? When having a giant, very identifiable red, white and blue logo across your chest, and your belt under the leather tag on your jeans meant you were all-American prep with a bit of a wild side? As the years went on, Tommy clothing started showing up in discount stores and we were suddenly over it. Even in this article, Hilfiger himself admits it.
“It was a classic case of overexposure,? he conceded. His clothes, which were sold in almost 2,000 American department stores and discount outlets, got “lost in a sea of mark-downs and sales?.
Well, Tommy now wants to reverse that trend, and has begun by completely revising the collection to appeal to a more upscale audience. He’s moving out of the kids department and the department store, and into his own chic retail spaces, including one in London.
For Fall of 2007, Hilfiger appears all grown up. He calls the collection “Pop Elegance,” and describes it this way:
This season is a modern study in contrast, celebrating a luxurious spin on our classics. It is about American prep meeting European sophistication. The charm of the past meets the modern chic of tomorrow.
My favorite fabrics – tweed, herringbone, tartan, Prince of Wales, gray flannel and Donegal – done in unexpected shapes and pops of color. A sailor dress in wool glen plaid; a silk nylon dress under a man’s toggle coat. A woman’s black watch oil cloth cape with reflective lining paird with a pony hair pump.
My take on the collection was that it was a little stuffy, a bit like raiding one’s grandfather’s closet. Yes, there are items I would wear, but it would need to be tempered a bit, mixed in with more modern things to keep from looking too much like a costume. You can go to the Hilfiger website to see the whole collection.
As for the brand itself, here are my questions:
• Can a “Tommy” suddenly become a “Thomas?”
• Can a brand be reinvented by glen plaid alone?
• Will the “right” demographic be able to get past the fact that the Hilfiger brand has been anything but upscale?
• Will the mid-scale consumer “get it” and aspire to the new upscale look?
• Does anyone care about this brand any more?
Our little Tommy is growing up. I hope he did his homework!
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