TOMMY HILFIGER

The real American Dream of fashion

Whoever wants to create fashion has to understand it – and above all has to understand life. As a teenager, designer Tommy Hilfiger already knew where his professional journey was going to take him. Even back then, a creative spirit was waiting inside him – a spirit whose absolute desire it was to design cool clothing. In 1969, he opened his first shop with two school friends in his home town Elmira near New York. There, he also sold flared trousers and fringed jackets of the sort he himself had purchased on his many shopping trips in the past. From then on, his success story ran its course. In 1992, Tommy Hilfiger finally became the first fashion company to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The 64-year-old tells us how everything began, what role cultural differences play in his daily work, and how he is guiding his brand successfully through the digital age.