The Meteoric Rise of Tommy Hilfiger as a Recognized Brand Name "The Four Great American Designers for Men Are: R---- L-----, P---- E----, C----- K----, T---- H-------". When this Wheel of Fortune-style advertisement was unveiled in 1985, the public easily identified the first three designers as Ralph Lauren, Perry Ellis, and Calvin Klein, but who was this fourth designer? The fourth designer, to whom the ad belonged to, was Tommy Hilfiger. At that time, Tommy Hilfiger and his recently begun company specializing in men's fashions were unknown. However, in less that a decade since that first advertisement appeared, Tommy Hilfiger has become a hugely successful company at the forefront of the fashion industry. As Jack Hyde, a Fashion Institute of Technology professor, has stated, "It's Hilfiger, Hilfiger, Hilfiger." Tommy Hilfiger, 48, founder, designer, and honorary chairman of the Hong Kong-based company that bears his name, was born and raised in the small town of Elmira, New York. He was one of nine children. Even at a young age, his fashion and artistic talents were shown through his dress. "He's always wearing a shirt or a pair of pants that was a little different than what everyone else was wearing" a friend of his remarked. In 1969, Hilfiger and two friends opened People's Place, a store specializing in trendy fashions and other items. The store grew and expanded with People's Places opening in various upstate New York towns such as Ithaca and Corning. Hilfiger, wanting to design clothes rather than purchase them from the manufacturer, began to consider becoming a designer. When his People's Place chain went bankrupt in 1977, Hilfiger moved to New York and worked as a designer, even though he had never attended design school, for various companies until 1984, when Tommy Hilfiger the company was born. Today Tommy Hilfiger labels grace everyone from President Bill Clinton to rapper Snoop Dogg...
