Thomas Jacob Hilfiger is an American fashion designer and founder of the lifestyle brand
Tommy Hilfiger Corporation.
Early life Hilfiger was born in Elmira, New York.
The second of nine children of a jeweler and a nurse, he is of German-Swiss and Irish descent,
and was raised Catholic.
Hilfiger also claims direct descent from the Scottish poet Robert Burns.
His parents wanted him to get a college education and pursue a traditional career.
He attended the Elmira Free Academy for high school.
He also attended GST BOCES Bush Campus in Elmira for machine shop trades.
Career Rather than furthering his education, he started
to work in retail at the age of 18.
Hilfiger would go to New York City to buy jeans and bell-bottom pants, which he customized
and resold at Brown's, a local downtown Elmira store.
He later opened his own store, named The People's Place, around the block in downtown Elmira.
Over the years, a number of stores closed in downtown Elmira as shopping traffic shifted
to the new Arnot Mall in Horseheads, New York.
After seven years, The People's Place went bankrupt, when Hilfiger was 25.
This is when he enrolled to study commerce.
The site of the original store has since been demolished to make room for First Arena, home
of the Elmira Jackals hockey team.
After turning to the design of clothing by designing for the rest of his stores in upstate
New York, Hilfiger moved to New York City with his wife Susie.
Although he was offered design assistant positions with designers Calvin Klein and Perry Ellis,
he turned down the offers despite the fact that he was broke.
In 1984, he founded the Tommy Hilfiger Corporation,, with support from The Murjani Group, which
went public in 1992, introducing his signature menswear collection.
By 2004, the company had 5,400 employees and revenues in excess of $1.8 billion.
Hilfiger was named Menswear Designer of the Year by the Council of Fashion Designers of
America in 1995.
In 1993, Hilfiger was a sponsor for Pete Townshend's Psychoderelict tour.
In 1998, Hilfiger gave singer Aaliyah an endorsement deal, in which he honored her in his Summer
1998 fashion show in Jamaica.
In 1999, Hilfiger was listed as main sponsor for Britney Spears 1999 ...Baby One More Time
Tour.
His nephew, pop singer Michael Fredo was also a model and spokesperson for Tommy Jeans and
was the opening act on Britney Spears' Baby One More Time Tour.
In 2001, Hilfiger signed a contract with Amy Lemons as spokesmodel for Tommy Jeans.
In 2005, a CBS TV reality show called The Cut tracked the progress of sixteen contestants
as they competed for a design job with Hilfiger in similar fashion to Donald Trump's The Apprentice.
In the end, Hilfiger chose Chris Cortez.
Largely 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.
In March 2010, Phillips-Van Heusen, owner of Calvin Klein, bought the Tommy Hilfiger
Corporation for $3 billion.
In March 2012, Hilfiger was announced as the fashion consultant on American Idol.
Personal life Hilfiger has four children with his ex-wife,
Susie: Alexandria, Richard a rapper who goes by the name Ricky Hil and is signed to Warner
Bros. Records, Elizabeth, and Kathleen.
On December 12, 2008, he married his second wife Dee Ocleppo, former wife of Gianni Ocleppo,
an Italian tennis player of the 1980s.
On February 25, 2009, the New York Post reported that Ocleppo was three months pregnant.
The couple had a son in 2009.
Criticisms Hilfiger has been criticized for having manufactured
clothes in sweatshop conditions in the United States territory of Saipan in the Northern
Mariana Islands.
As a U.S. Commonwealth, clothes made there can be labeled "Made in the USA", but federal
labor laws, including the minimum wage, do not apply.
In March 2000, the company, along with other defendants, settled a class action suit brought
by Saipanese garment workers, which had alleged mistreatment by over 20 large U.S. clothing
manufacturers.
Product lines Hilfiger Denim, a premium-upscale denim collection
for men and women; designs are inspired by American classics and finished with a modern
edge True Star Gold, fragrance created by Hilfiger
and spokeswoman Beyoncé Knowles True Star, another fragrance created by Hilfiger
and with spokesperson Beyoncé Knowles True Star Men, a fragrance created by Hilfiger
with spokesperson Enrique Iglesias Tommy Girl, fragrance for women
Red Label, a line of denim-themed products including jeans, T-shirts, and sweatshirts
H by Tommy Hilfiger, an upscale line which was ended after Tommy Hilfger sold his company,
the same sort of style is now carried on under the Tommy Hilfiger label in their specialty
stores Tommy Hilfiger, the company line of clothes
sold in department stores, company stores, and specialty stores
Tommy Sport, a defunct line that came out in the 1990s and capitalized on Hilfiger's
popularity in urban areas Tommy Hilfiger for the Home, a line of bedding
and bath products Tommy Sailing, was due to be released in January
or February 2007 Tommy, a brightly colored casual line
Tommy Jeans, a denim inspired clothing collection and corresponding fragrance
Hilfiger Athletics, a sport inspired clothing line and fragrance
References
External links Official website
Urban Legends that allege false claims against Hilfiger
Anti-Defamation League; Letter to Tommy Hilfiger