35 Facts About Tommy Hilfiger

Tommy Hilfiger later expanded into women's clothing and various luxury items such as perfumes and went public in 1992.

In 2006, Tommy Hilfiger sold his company for $1.6 billion to Apax Partners, who next sold it in 2010 to Phillips-Van Heusen for $3 billion.

Tommy Hilfiger remains the company's principal designer, leading the design teams and overseeing the entire creative process.

In 2012, Tommy Hilfiger was awarded the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

Tommy Hilfiger graduated from the Elmira Free Academy high school in 1969.

Tommy Hilfiger's parents wanted him to get a college education and pursue a traditional career, and for a time he attended GST BOCES Bush Campus in Elmira.

Tommy Hilfiger spent the summer of 1969 working in a clothing store on Cape Cod, and afterwards he decided to use his life savings of $150 to open a clothing store in 1971 as People's Place.

Tommy Hilfiger enrolled in classes on commerce and the business side of the fashion industry.

In 1984, Tommy Hilfiger was approached by businessman Mohan Murjani, to pursue his goal of designing and heading a men's sportswear line.

Murjani backed the necessary investment for Tommy Hilfiger to establish his own brand.

Later Tommy Hilfiger oversaw the design of the Coca-Cola clothing line for Murjani.

Tommy Hilfiger was named Menswear Designer of the Year by the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 1995.

Tommy Hilfiger was serving as the company's co-chairman by 1997, and that year he published his first book, titled All American: A Style Book.

The clothes are marketed in connection with the music industry, and as early as 1993 Tommy Hilfiger was an official sponsor for Pete Townshend's Psychoderelict tour.

Tommy Hilfiger has sponsored several musical events, including Sheryl Crow's If It Makes You Happy tour in 1997, Britney Spears 1999.

Hilfiger had a cameo in the fashion spoof Zoolander in 2001, and from 2002 to 2006 Tommy Hilfiger Inc owned the naming rights to the Tommy Hilfiger at Jones Beach Theatre venue.

The Tommy Hilfiger Corporation continued to work closely with musicians into the 2000s, focusing on fragrances as well as clothes.

True Star, a fragrance endorsed by Tommy Hilfiger and released in 2004, featured Beyonce as its poster girl.

In December 2005, Tommy Hilfiger sold the clothing brand for $1.6 billion, or $16.80 a share, to Apax Partners, a private investment company.

In 2009 Tommy Hilfiger was a guest judge on an episode of Project Runway, and he presented the Best African Artist award to Akon at the 2010 World Music Awards.

Tommy Hilfiger was instrumental in the creation of the Marc Anthony Collection in 2012, as Marc Anthony had never been interested in the fashion business until Tommy Hilfiger called him and convinced him a line was worthwhile.

In 2012, Tommy Hilfiger was awarded the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

Tommy Hilfiger remains the company's principal designer, leading the design teams and overseeing the entire creative process.

In January 2015, Tommy Hilfiger announced that he was working on his memoirs.

Tommy Hilfiger is personally involved in charities and causes such as Autism Speaks and the MLK, Jr.

Since 2008, Tommy Hilfiger has designed limited-edition handbags in support Breast Health International, an international organization focused on finding a cure for breast cancer.

Tommy Hilfiger has continuously cited the important role inclusivity, diversity and self-expression have had in the brand's development and contributions to pop culture.

In 2020, Tommy Hilfiger sold his 22.4 acre estate in Greenwich, Connecticut, for $47.5 million.

Tommy Hilfiger has been criticized for having manufactured clothes in sweatshop conditions in the United States territory of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands.

Tommy Hilfiger continues to maintain multiple fashion lines, some focused on wearable "casual" clothes while others take on various haute couture commissions.

Tommy Hilfiger was born on March 24,1951, in Elmira, New York, the second of nine children.

Tommy Hilfiger's father Richard was a watchmaker of German-Swiss descent, and his mother Virginia was a nurse of Irish descent.

Tommy Hilfiger's family originated from Safenwil, Canton of Aargau, Switzerland with the original spelling of his family name being Hilfiker and being americanized after emigration by his ancestors.

Tommy Hilfiger had an early interest in sports, fashion, and the music industry, a trend that ran in his family.

In 1976, Tommy Hilfiger met Susan Cirona, an employee at the People's Place in Ithaca; they married in 1980.