Job: Famed apparel entrepreneur who launched the eponymous Tommy Hilfiger brand 24 years ago. With his red, white and blue color schemes and embrace of Americana, Hilfiger built an empire upon the American Dream he aspired to achieve when he was growing up as one of nine children in the upstate town of Elmira.
A fit 58, the blue-eyed Hilfiger appears in classic business casual garb — jeans, brown suede boots and a navy sports jacket with a red paisley kerchief peeking out from the pocket.
In 2004, the fashion house relocated its corporate HQ from the Garment District into Chelsea’s colossal Starrett-Lehigh Building, which is also home to Martha Stewart Omnimedia, Nina Ricci, Marchesa and a host of other creative and corporate ventures.
“We used to be spread over 16 floors. We’d spend an immense amount of time in elevators. Now we’re in the same square footage on three, so you need roller skates or a people mover to get from one place to the next,” he notes apologetically, acknowledging the epic trek from the lobby to his digs.
Décor: Hilfiger’s luxurious domain on the southwest corner of the building boasts breathtaking views of the Hudson River, the piers and Lady Liberty. Decorated in a style the designer calls “modern classic,” it’s sprawling yet homey, with Biedermeier rugs, Hermes end tables, and other furnishings you’d more readily expect to see in a luxury townhouse. Although he didn’t create the space solo (his team assisted), he’s hyper-aware of each stick of furniture’s provenance. Antiques such as French suede chairs and a Nantucket armoire offset exposed silver ducts hanging from the high ceilings.
Desk: An imposing English Colefax and Fowler from the early 1900s made of carved mahogany and leather.
Detritus: Not surprisingly, the space is filled with Americana. Flags of various sizes and time periods — from vintage to modern — hang throughout the office. The patriotic theme continues with the eagles — one made of cast iron for a bank in Boston is perched on an end table; another carved in wood and hung over the desk dates back to 1776.
A long windowsill holds various treasures including a bustier that reads “Tommy Rocks” (Naomi Campbell’s). Elton John’s giant platform boots decorated in red, white and blue sit nearby atop a pile of suitcases from the 1930s. A frame in the office’s foyer is home to Marilyn Monroe’s jeans, which the Monroe buff purchased at a Sotheby’s auction a decade ago. “JC Penney, 24 waist,” he reports. “It’s what she wore in ‘The Misfits.’ ”
Several large-format photo books grace the coffee table. The designer’s had a hand in creating many of them, including “Iconic America.” He picks one up and flips to a photo of himself at age 18. It was 1969, the year of Woodstock, and Hilfiger, fresh out of high school, was launching his first retail store, The People’s Place. Unbelievably, aside from the bellbottoms and shaggy hair, he looks largely unchanged.
Black-and-white pictures of four of Hilfiger’s five children line one wall. His latest addition, 3-month-old Sebastian, is featured exclusively in utero in a sexy photo of his pregnant second wife, ex-model Dee Ocleppo, shown wearing a cowboy hat and belly-baring vest. Modernist paintings done by his 24-year-old daughter, Ally, who starred in MTV’s “Rich Girls” reality series, hang just outside the office.
Work style: “Great execution’s the key. Whether we’re doing a fashion show, photo shoot or party, we’re a team of doers.”
Coffee habit: Black, only a single cup in the morning.
Routine: Sometimes Hilfiger drives into the office from his Greenwich, Conn., manse. Other days he zips down from his apartment atop the Plaza.
He typically takes care of meetings outside the office in the morning. In the afternoon, he lunches in the café on site, or heads to a restaurant with friends or business associates. Hilfiger prides himself on eating well and exercising. “For lunch it’s mostly veggies and fish. Overall, it’s little alcohol, little sugar. I run and practice yoga.”
He says he splits his time evenly between cultivating the creative side of the house and managing the business. The designer also supports a slew of charities, and invests time in deciding which ones to support.
“Every year I think we’ll limit our reach, but it’s too hard to say no,” he says.
Nearly every night he attends events. Most require a wardrobe change, so he retires to his ultra-luxe marble bathroom to primp before departing.
Current projects: Undeterred by the struggling economy, Hilfiger just opened a 22,000-square-foot global flagship store on Fifth Avenue. “The high end’s getting killed, but we’re an affordable luxury — accessible, but still aspirational,” he says.
