Tommy Hilfiger has been accused of shamelessly copying Ralph Lauren, whom he says he admires greatly, and of being arrogant. (Early in his career, he launched an ad campaign in which he dared to compare himself to both Lauren and Calvin Klein.) Nonetheless, Tommy has prevailed, and he has done so by designing clothes people love to wear and by developing a brand that shoppers covet.

As he celebrates 20 years of being in the fashion business and having his own label, Hilfiger has been attracting attention. First was his purchase of the Karl Lagerfeld luxury brand late last year and the run on CBS of the reality television show, “The Cut”. Now, speculations are that Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, is considering purchasing the Tommy Hilfiger Corp.

With boyish haircut and disarming grin, Hilfiger embodies the very image his label portrays, a wide-open spirit associated with idealistic America . But there’s more to Tommy than appearances suggest. Recently, I spoke with the designer in his New York City headquarters. Here’s what he had to say:

CW:  I think this is the first time I’m going to note in an eBay/Personal Style interview what a designer is wearing. You’re in Converse All Stars, short white socks, jeans and a striped shirt from your own label.   The whole look is so Tommy.  You look great.

TH:  Thank you.

CW:   This will be a wide-ranging interview, covering design, fashion, lifestyle. So let’s dive right in. First, “The Cut,” your TV show on CBS.  What made you decide to do this?

TH:  It was in the air. I had been approached by a couple of different television networks. Then CBS came to me and I thought, “ Ok, this is serious. Could be cool, could be fun.” In fact, finding the new great American designer is not only a challenge. It is also fun and exciting. We found someone who is going to be phenomenal.”

CW:  You are tough on the show. I was watching, saying to myself, “Oh, my God, he’s tough.” Tell us about this side of you. You also have that easy-going, charming way about you, but to be as successful as you are…

TH:  When it’s about my business, in a design room, dealing with people who are dealing with a product that has my name on it, finding someone who we’ll be paying a lot of money, signing a contract, I need to be very serious, as tough as possible. “The Cut” was difficult; there were so many talented people.  It was difficult to eliminate. 

CW:  Yeah, very hard.

TH:  Very hard because I became attached to a lot of them.

CW: And the prize is they win a job in the Tommy Hilfiger company?

TH:  Yes, a quarter of a million dollars per year, starting.

CW:  Will you do this again?

TH:  I don’t think I’ll do this again, but I would do something different.

CW:  Really?

TH:  Yeah. I think reality TV has seen its day. [“The Cut” was not picked for the next season.] There’s too much reality out there, but I might do something else. I’m not sure.

CW:  In TV?

TH:  Maybe.

FRANKLY TOMMY 

CW:  Tell us about Tommy, the designer. You’re celebrating your twentieth anniversary.  I remember when some of your first ads ran  (comparing an unknown Tommy to top designers like Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein). It was a tease, Did you ever think you would come this far?

TH:  Not this far. I thought I would be successful, but this success level is beyond my dreams.

CW:  How so?

TH:  I never expected to be a $2 billion-dollar global brand.  I thought, you know, we’d do $10 million dollars in business.  I thought that would be amazing.

CW:  And now you’re a celebrity in your own right.

TH:  Well, I think most designers who have their name on a label are known to the public.  Add to that stores and shops and signs with all kinds of advertising, so I think that automatically puts them in that category.

CW:  But I think there are only ten.  I think you’re being too modest.

TH:  Well, I’m one of the group.  Who are those ten?

CW:  You can be incredibly successful, amazingly successful by all different measures and still not be known.  And I would say there are ten, as far as designers, maybe a few more if you say brands as well. But we’re talking celebrities, personalities - those would be you, Ralph, Donna  (just barely), Calvin, not even Tom (Ford, former Gucci designer).  I’m thinking internationally too, Prada. … No, not Prada. Oh, my gosh, maybe not even ten.  You know, I’d even say maybe not Donna.

That’s something I have learned being at Talk magazine, at eBay, and in television. There’s such a big, big world out there and in New York , we operate in the small world of fashion.

TH:  Yes, we think everybody knows Narciso [Rodriguez], for example. We think because we know them all, everyone else does.  See, in reality, it’s different.

Michael Kors is a good example.  My former partners [Lawrence Stroll and Silas Chou] bought Michael Kors and they’re saying that they have a lot of work to do to get his name known and out there.  But, see, we know it.  Say  “Michael Kors” to anybody in this biz and they say, “Wow. Michael!”

STYLE TIPS

CW:  One of the things you have been able to do is distill into a checklist the must-have items people should have in their closet each season.  What should a woman have in her wardrobe now in order to be stylish?

TH:  First of all she needs her basics:  A great pair of jeans, a great natural-color gloss, a great cashmere sweater. Then on the dressier side she needs an incredible dress -- probably a short black cocktail dress she can wear anywhere, very easy.  She needs a sexy skirt, she needs a tight fitting or well-fitting jacket.  She needs some shoes, a couple of different handbags. The rest she can mix and match.

CW:  What’s the biggest mistake women make in getting dressed? What do they do that misses the mark?

TH:  A lot of women overdo it. They wear too much make-up, too much jewelry, too much perfume. They overdo from head to toe. 

If they want to come off as looking a little bit more fashionable, more together, less is better. A confident woman is very appealing.  Women who are less than confident overdo it.

CW:  What about men?  What are the quintessential wardrobe items for men?

TH:  I think if men try to look too fashionable, they look ridiculous.

CW:  That’s a really important point right now because men are on the cusp.  So many men are looking to be more stylish.

TH:  Have one great fashion item.   Wear a pair of jeans, a nice shirt, but a great jacket.  If it’s a cool jacket, cool shirt, cool shoes, cool pants, it’s too much.  It’s overdoing it.

CW:  What is a great shoe for a man to have? A great shoe for a woman to have?

TH:  I think a woman needs a great heel, because she needs to lift herself up.  In a heel, she looks sexy.  For a man, he needs a great classic loafer.

CW.  Moving specifically to Tommy Hilfiger Collection for fall:  If the Tommy Collection customer is adding one item to her wardrobe, if she could only afford one thing, what should it be?

TH:  A cashmere sweater.

CW:  Color? Shape?

TH:  We have cashmere sweaters in twelve colors.  I love the blue ranges.  The dark blue, the light blue.

CW:  Would you say the same for men?

TH:  For men, I like the gray heathers, camel.

CW:  And it should also be a cashmere sweater?

TH:  Yes.

CW:  Let’s talk a bit about the business.  What are the brands now existing in the Tommy Hilfiger empire?

TH:  Tommy Hilfiger, Tommy Jeans, Tommy Girl, H-Hilfiger, Karl Lagerfeld

CW:  Tell us a little bit about your Karl Lagerfeld deal.

TH:  We were looking for a company to buy last year to give us growth internationally. Karl was photographing me for a magazine and we became friends.   He invited me to his home. We were having lunch, talking about our businesses and our lives. I told him I was looking for a business to buy.  And he said, “Well, buy mine.”

CW:  And you said, “Where is it?”

TH:  I said, “Ok.”

CW:  And that was it?

TH:  It was the Karl Lagerfeld business which he had never really developed to any great degree, because he was always with Chanel.

CW:  Did the fact that he had so much success with H&M influence you at all, or was the deal done?

TH:  No, this was before. This was before the H&M deal.

CW:  Oh, so you probably influenced him to do that.

TH:  No, the contract was signed, but it wasn’t exposed yet, so he was already on board to do that.

CW:  Now, what about designer jealousy? Is he jealous?  Are you jealous of him?  Can both of you exist under the same umbrella?

TH:  We’re opposites. He’s very European, very couture.  Our looks are different, the persona, the attitude is different, total opposites, but we’re very friendly.  So it’s like whatever I do does not affect him. Whatever he does, does not affect me.  And I think he’s a genius in design in the world.

CW:  Now even given him being a genius of design, which I agree with, do you expect to or have you already given him advice? I think he can get good advice from you?

TH:  I got good advice from him. The advice was, interestingly enough, when I started doing my twentieth anniversary collection. He thought I should go copy my old styles. What he taught me was very interesting.  When he took over the Chanel job, he went back into the archives of Chanel, took every single item and brought it up to today.  So that’s what I did, I went back to my archives, took every single item and brought it up to today.

CW: Now I haven’t seen the collection yet but by the time this interview runs I will have seen it. So give me a couple of examples.

TH:  Fresh American style.  Khaki is the new denim. Madras , seersucker, rugby stripes, gingham, all-American, but done in a very hip way. Men and women.

CW:  You also do Tommy Hilfiger Home?

TH: Yes, home, handbags, fragrance, jewelry, watches, footwear, swimwear, underwear, lingerie, luggage, golf wear, children’s wear.

HOME DESIGN TIPS

CW:  Is there anything that you haven’t done that you’d like to do?

TH:  I would like to do more Home.

CW:  So tell me about Home. In the same way you talked about your advice for clothing, what two good tips can you give to people about bringing some flourish to their home or making their home more stylish?

TH:  I like a mix of modern and classic.  I don’t like it to be all modern or all classic. I think that if you have modern, put a couple of antiques in. If you have antiques, put a couple of modern pieces in. It’s all about that mix.  Just like it’s about wearing something vintage with something new or wearing something really hip with something very classic. When you mix, it’s very appealing.

MORE  BUSINESS

CW:  What’s next for you, Tommy, business-wise?

TH:  We’re going on tour in Asia, doing fashion shows and parties in Shanghai , Tokyo , Seoul , Hong Kong , a number of different places.  The international attention is very important. Our international business is up thirty-five percent.  What we found out is that red, white, and blue travels really well. Our classic fresh American look is accepted so well internationally.

CW:  That’s great because eBay has this international audience, so it will be great for them to know that too.  Apart from international business, is there anything else you will be working on?  Will you be working on the Karl Lagerfeld launch?

TH:  No, we have a special team working on that.  I’m really pretty busy with our H stores [selling the higher-priced men’s and women’s H collection, exclusively].

CW:  Where are those stores?

TH:  California , Washington , Dallas , Atlanta , Houston , Chicago, all over.

CW:  In California , do you know what cities?

TH: L.A.

CW:  Didn’t you have a Hilfiger store in L.A. before?

TH:  We did but we thought it was the wrong location.

CW:  Where will this one be?

TH: Uh …I don’t think the release is signed yet.

CW:  And which one is next on the list to be opened?

TH:  Washington , D.C.

CW: When is that?

TH: That will be January [2006].

CW:  What about Tommy Hilfiger? A new store opened in Milan during the Spring 2006 fashion week in early October.

TH:  We are opening more Tommy Hilfiger stores worldwide.  We have a number of them in New York . We’re opening 12 in India , we’re opening another 15 in China , We’re opening in Germany , Austria , Spain . Internationally, we’re really well accepted, so we’re just popping stores open all over.

CW:  And the markets are not yet saturated?

TH:  Exactly.

CW:  Do you feel like you’ve reached saturation point in the U.S. ?

TH:  I feel that I was reaching it, so I pulled back and I decided to realign my distribution so I wouldn’t be oversaturated.

POP CULTURE & TOMMY

CW:  You’re doing your retrospective. Sounds like it will continue the flavor of Tommy Hilfiger that we know, but it also sounds like there’s some change in it too.

TH:  Well, I think that whatever the flavor was, was.  Moving forward without losing the heritage is important, but keeping it the same is dangerous.

CW:  Now, you’ve always been inspired by pop culture.  Who and what in pop culture is inspiring you these days?

TH:  I’d say that I’m inspired by FAME.  F is for fashion, A is for art, M is for music, and E is for Entertainment.  That word is so important to me because if you think about the pop culture icons over the past and how influential they’ve been as far as lifestyle and fashion . . . Madonna, Michael Jackson, Springsteen, Jagger, Puffy, Jay-Z.

But I think now there is a merging going on.  Now the Black Eyed Peas  [who performed at the Tommy twentieth anniversary party in New York ] in my mind are the perfect crossover group, and I think that’s where it’s all going.  So, that’s where I am pop culture-wise -- the mix, the crossover.

CW:  Do you think that Tommy Hilfiger is now skewing a bit older, a bit more sophisticated these days?  I always thought of Tommy as having the youth.

TH:  The fact is we have both. You know, we’ll never leave the youth. But H collection is more defined, more sophisticated, and some of our sports collections are appealing to a slightly older crowd as well, but the youth is our aspiration and it’s our motivation.

TH: We really set trends in hip-hop and urban, the big logos, the baggy, relaxed street clothes, the whole preppy look. We really set preppy cool into the hands of America and then blending it with rock and roll, or blending it with other music influences, glam, authentic sports, sailing, racing, etc. It’s that blend to me that is who we are.

CW:  And you see your past as being a way to the future?

TH:  Yes, but taking the past and doing it in a new way.

PRIVATE MOMENTS

CW:  Tell me, Tommy, about your lifestyle.  You have three kids?

TH:  I have four kids.

CW:  Ages?

TH:  Ten, twelve, fifteen, and twenty.

CW:  And Ally is your eldest?

TH: Ally’s my oldest.

CW:  Readers will be familiar with her because she had her own hit TV show [“Rich Girls” on MTV].  I had read that she was sick. Is she better now?

TH:  Yes, she’s fine. She had Lyme disease.

CW:  Is she doing another TV show?

TH:  She’s going to acting school now.

TH:  She just finished producing a movie called “Proud”. I was the executive producer of the movie and she was the producer.

CW:  Oh, wonderful. I remember her when she was this little girl waiting in your showroom to be taken to ballet class.

TH:  Exactly.

CW:  You’re divorced. You have a girlfriend, who obviously you’re very close with.  I’ve seen her around and we saw her on TV [on “The Cut”]. Where do you live?

TH:  I have a house in Connecticut .  I have a house in Mustique.

CW:  Do you holiday in Mustique or do you actually spend time working there?

TH:  I holiday in Mustique. I have a ski house in Vermont and a house in Nantucket .

CW:  Which is your favorite?

TH:  Mustique is my favorite.

CW:  And why is that?

TH:  It’s so relaxing. I love the Caribbean .  I love the weather, the people, the sand, the beaches.  It’s real relaxed.

CW:  How do you compare being an influential designer, an executive, a leader of industry with being a dad?

TH:  Being a dad is more important than any of it, because you’re molding and shaping children.

Being a designer and leading a large company forces you to deal with all different personalities and all different types of people, and as a result of that I think you become a better person and a better dad.

  Knowing how to deal with all different types of people and different personalities is so important in life. If you teach your children that, that is more important in my opinion as far as leading positive lives than many other things. We live in a world full of people.  If you get along with people and you understand and respect all different types of people, all different types of backgrounds regardless of if they are window washers or CEO’s, you will succeed in life. 

CW:  What’s your birthday, Tommy, and how old are you?

TH:  I’m March 24, 1951 and I’m 54 years old.

CW:  And what do you do for recreation?

TH:  I do yoga everyday.

CW: Oh, you do?

TH:  Yes and I snow ski, I scuba dive, I like racing cars. I love the outdoors.

CW:  A couple of your favorite restaurants around the country or around the world?

TH:  Umm… I like Cipriani in New York City .

CW:  The old one?

TH:  Yes.  And I like Rebecca’s restaurant in Greenwich , Connecticut .

CW:  And anything else? In Paris ?

TH:  I like L’Ami Louis. That’s my favorite in Paris .  I like Cipriani in London , I like Nobu in New York City .

CW:  Two categories of gifts  -- expensive and not expensive at all? What would you want? What could somebody give you to make you smile?

TH:  A healthy family.

CW:  That’s an inspiring answer. I was thinking of something more materialistic.

TH:  No. Peace in the world.

CW:  And materialistically?

TH:  (laughs) My jet is getting a little old.

CW:  Was that expensive or inexpensive?

TH: That was inexpensive….no.  I think I’d like a yacht. I don’t have one, but I’d like a new yacht.

CW:  You sail though. Do you have a boat?

TH:  No, I just rent.