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People of all races, sex, and ethnic background wear his clothing and seem to have no problem paying substantially more money just to have the "Tommy" logo plastered on it. Those who wear Hilfiger are proud of the image it creates for them, they tend to be instilled with a sense of all the things Hilfiger stands for regardless of any controversy that may surround him.. Hilfiger took his first step into the fashion world in 1969. Driving his 1959 Volkswagen, he traveled to New York City with his $150 life savings and bought as many of the trendy "bell- bottom" jeans as he could. He then returned to his small town of Elmira, New York and sold them at a huge profit since the jeans were unavailable there and the demand was high. These profits led to the opening of his first store called "People's Place," with 9 more stores soon to follow. (History Of TH) In 1985, Tommy Hilfiger established himself in department stores across the U.S. At first sales were modest, it was a new brand to most, no one else was wearing it, why should people buy it? Making himself easily accessible to consumers and frequently visiting stores and talking with shoppers, he implemented peoples suggestions into his clothing line. Slowly, his line started to become more popular. Teenagers became his driving force at first, but as his company grew, he started to widen his consumer group. The first thing to consider is how Tommy markets his clothing. Traveling the world, Hilfiger has seen the importance of American emblems in societies of other countries. Emblems make it easy for people to associate things with each other. Clearly, he wanted his emblem to be purely American and to be known as something that originated in the United States. The Tommy flag, with it colors similar to that of the U.S. flag, tends to make people think patriotically, so they tend to consider the clothing to be a statement of pride in their home country. Tommy himself considers his line "All American" and his style influences all come from a variety of past U.S. style trends and his views of American life: "Whenever I look at the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, Mt. Rushmore, whenever I see a pair of blue jeans or a '65 Mustang, I realize that these are all icons that make me proud to be American." (Hilfiger, p18) , Page 2 Advertisements are generally brightly colored and show people that are comfortable and having a good time in Tommy clothes. Like other designers, Tommy appeals to a variety of generations and types of people by gearing his advertisements towards the crowd he envisions as being the main consumer of that particular article of clothing. However, with the huge popularity he has achieved, his advertisements tend to have more attention paid to them. Advertisements for products such as baggy cargo pants, for example, usually involve teenagers engaged in some sort of "teenage" activity outside, more often than not in the city. It creates an urban image for his clothing making teens feel like that's what's cool, and builds a desire to own it. In contrast, an advertisement for a knit sweater will likely show someone a little older, against a more neutral background. A different image is presented, laid back, possibly more mature, but it creates the same desire to own it. Considering the people in Tommy's ads are in such a great mood and symbols of being fashionable, consumers feel they can be too if they buy the right clothes. People get the sense they will be better liked by others, they'll be part of the "in" crowd. Because of this, the next time a person is in a local mall, there's a good chance they'll head for the Tommy section. Hilfiger also uses symbolic words in his ads and names of his products. A quick glance at any of his ads finds the use of words and phrases such as "freedom," "American Tradition," and "Real American," in conjunction with the Tommy flag. Tommy's clothes all have tags with names such as "Freedom Jean" or have the words "American Tradition" plastered across the front. Again, these are words that Americans associate with their country. Buying the clothing unifies them in the "proud-to-be-an-American" group. Tommy has also made it clear that being in his "group" is not always inexpensive, prices for his clothes tend to be considerably higher than other lesser known brands, but at the same time not so outrageous that only the very wealthy can own them. When people pick up a shirt by a lesser known designer and compare it to a similar shirt made by Hilfiger, they probably won't notice much difference between the two. The fabrics will be similar, the color will be about the same, and so on. However, there is always at least one very important characteristic that sets the Hilfiger shirt apart from the competitor's, there's a little flag somewhere on the Hilfiger shirt. It's usually not a huge flag, but it's big enough to be easily seen by others during the course of the day. The flag is the signifier of being "All American," part of the Tommy crowd, so people will spend an extra 20 to 50 dollars for the shirt. Not just Tommy, but higher end designers in general, have a strong force in their corner. People like the feeling that they are wearing a high-end brand, it creates a sense of pride and puts them in a different category for that day. Sure they could have worn a cheaper sweater they received free from some organization, but instead they are wearing an expensive sweater, possibly more comfortable, with a "proud-to-be-American" theme and that alone can create a better self-image for people. The design of Tommy's clothing also makes people want to wear it by setting new style trends within our society. As an emerging company, the challenge of creating a name for yourself can be enormous in a market already run by major companies and full of consumers who would rather follow the current trend and wait for someone else to start a new one. With his dominance in the fashion market, Tommy is able to create new ways of dressing, and people now know that if it says Tommy, it will be a safe purchase and they will be seen as fashionable as long as the shirt is part of their wardrobe. Unfortunately, there are always those who want to undermine the success of others. In late 1998 and early 1999, rumors were spread about racist comments that Hilfiger supposedly made regarding Asians and African-Americans on two different talkshows. Later, the rumors were proven to be completely false after interviews with the hosts of the two talkshows found they had never even met Hilfiger. (USA Today, 28 Feb 1999) The rumors were intended to end the popularity of the clothing among these groups which comprised a substantial part of Tommy's consumer base. Tommy's Hilfiger Inc's press statement clearly denied this, "The facts are simple and incontrovertible, Tommy Hilfiger did not make the alleged inappropriate racial comments, whether these rumors are part of a misunderstanding or a deliberate act of malice, they have no basis in fact." (USA Today, 28 Feb 1999) The rumors not only led to false beliefs about Hilfiger himself, but if left unanswered would have ultimately led to his downfall as a businessman. Implying that Hilfiger did not feel his clothing looked good on a certain group goes against all of what his line stands for, American Ideals. Freedom, equality, and a chance for all to succeed regardless of race or ethnic background is what most people in this country are proud of. This shared belief leads to the very unity that Tommy tries to impress upon consumers who buy his products. Tommy's clothes are worn by such a variety of people that saying he doesn't want a certain group wearing them makes no sense at all. Obviously, not everyone will like Tommy Hilfiger's clothing. His sometimes gaudy insignias might make people want to shy away from his products so they don't feel like "walking , Page 4 billboards." Regardless of what Hilfiger's message is, there are always people who just won't want to hear it, much less wear it. Tommy will most likely continue to be popular for many years to come, and the very diversity that makes up America and creates an array of beliefs and values will be his driving force. "As a man of American culture, I hope to continue to investigate how it works, how ideas and images can be put together, taken apart, and reassembled." (Hilfiger, p193) Bibliography: Works Cited Assoicated Press. "Designer Hilfiger disputes Net rumors of racism." USA Today 28 February, 1999: News4 Berns, Walter. "On Patriotism" Public Interest 127 (Spring 1997) p19-30 Hilfiger, Tommy All American New York: MadHouse Productions, 1997 "History Of Tommy Hilfiger" 101799 http://members.tripod.com/~netmage/history.html 61597 Jordan, Anthony. "The Soul of Americanism" American Legion 144 (1998) p8 Jost, Kenneth "Patriotism in America" CQ Researcher 25 June 1999: 545-567 Mouffe, Chantal "For Love of Country: An essay on Patriotism and Nationalism" Ethnic and Racial Studies, Jan 1997: 214-216 Word Count: 1504
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