The Sunday Times - UK (2021-11-28)

to make profit from people, it should give

something back.”

One of his passion projects is adaptive

clothing, which means tweaking clothing

for people with disabilities. Of his seven

children (four from his marriage to his

first wife, Susie Hilfiger, and three —

including two stepkids — with his second

wife, Dee Ocleppo Hilfiger, who he

married in 2008), three have been diag-

nosed with autism.

“I have seen how they live their lives first

hand. When someone came to us to suggest

that we do adaptive clothing, I looked around

and could not believe there was nobody doing

it. No other designer had even done it. So we

thought what a great project. Let’s do it and

let’s do it really well. They find it very difficult

to button buttons on a blouse or on a shirt, or

zip up a zipper or tie their shoelaces. Or get

their limbs into a sleeve or a pant leg. So we

created ways to redesign the clothes so that

they were adaptable.” This includes customis-

able sleeve lengths (important when wearing

a prosthesis), adding magnetic buttons and

easy-open necklines. “People have embraced

it tremendously. We are very proud to be able

to help people with special needs.”

While the company made $6.9 billion in

global retail sales last year — “We sold well

into the millions of track pants,” Hilfiger

laughs, “and when they buy track pants, they

also buy a hoodie, a T-shirt and a jacket to

match” — you never get a sense of a charmed

life; Hilfiger is clearly a working man. When

he does allow himself some downtime, it’s

spent watching Nicole Kidman in Nine Perfect

Strangers and listening to Drake.

“But I’m a classic rock sort of aficionado.

I just went to a Stones concert — a friend of

mine had a private party and had the Stones

play before they took off on their American

tour,” he says. “They’re an enigma. I mean, for

Mick to be bouncing around the stage the

way he does at 78 and to play 18 songs without

stopping. And I miss Charlie Watts —

I became friendly with him in the Eighties.

He will be missed terribly. I think the secret

to their success is passion.” An enduring

success story fuelled by passion? Takes one to

know one, Mr Hilfiger. ■

Tommy’s greatest hits

Clockwise from top Kate Moss

on the Tommy Hilfiger catwalk,

1996; Aaliyah models for a jeans

campaign, 1997; Hilfiger with

Destiny’s Child, 1998; Naomi

Campbell on the Tommy Hilfiger

catwalk, 1999; Lewis Hamilton at the

Tommy x Lewis Milan show, 2019;

Jeremy O Harris at the Met Gala,

2021; Zendaya, 2013; Hilfiger with

Gigi Hadid, 2016; with Britney

Courtesy of Tommy Hilfiger, Getty Images, ShutterstockSpears, 1999; and in his studio, 1987

The Sunday Times Style • 31