Presentation By: Kritika Dawar Kriti Mehta Miriam Thomson Stuti Goel

Thomas Jacob "Tommy" Hilfiger… Born March 24, 1951, and raised in Elmira, New York Fashion Designer Tommy Hilfiger or Thomas Jacob Hilfiger grew up in an Irish Catholic family. The second of nine children, Hilfiger knew from a young age that he wanted to pursue a career in fashion, his parents however originally intended for him to be an engineer. Rather than furthering his education, an 18-year-old Hilfiger decided to work in retail -- apparently he had an innate business sense, even early on.

Always aiming to work with a product "for the people," (as seen in his present ads), he opened a store appropriately named "The People's Place", in upstate New York. Hilfiger would trek down to New York City to get his hands on jeans and bell-bottom pants that weren't available in his hometown, and sold them in his store. Well, the people didn't respond as well as the budding entrepreneur would have hoped, and The People's Place went bankrupt when Hilfiger was 25. It seems that he learned the hard way.

After turning to the design aspect of clothing by designing for the rest of his stores in upstate New York (a total of 10), Hilfiger picked up the pieces and headed to New York City with his now estranged wife, Susie. Although he was offered design assistant positions with bigwig designers Calvin Klein and Perry Ellis -- and was broke -- he turned them both down with greater plans in mind. Hilfiger met Mohan Murjani (he owned the license of Gloria Vanderbilt jeans), who offered to back his business. Murjani went bankrupt, but Hilfiger bought back his company with the help of two partners. A year after Tommy Hilfiger, Inc. was founded, the company went public and built the company into the empire it is today.

Hilfiger was President of the company from 1982 until 1989, but has designed clothes under the Tommy label since Presently Director of the Company (since 1992), Honorary Chairman of the Board (since 1994) and Principal Designer, Hilfiger took what started as men's jeans and sportswear, to a half- billion-dollar empire encompassing menswear (including tailored suits), women's wear, children's wear, footwear, eyeglasses, fragrances, and home furnishings. By 2004 the company had 5,400 employees and revenues in excess of $1.8 billion. Hilfiger was named Menswear Designer of the Year by the Council of Fashion Designers of America in Largely due to declining sales, in 2006, Tommy Hilfiger sold his company for $1.6 billion, or $16.80 a share, to Apax Partners, a private investment company

Hilfiger's casual approach to fashion (remark that his label is called "Tommy", not the more pretentious "Thomas") has helped place his label in a league of its own, in what he describes as "traditional, with a twist". Whatever it is, his ads, which are inspired by Americana and good old rock 'n' roll, as well as his clean-cut, simple and recognizable designs, have led to an empire that is considered one of the highest-ranked publicly traded clothing companies. Through extensive licensing deals (almost 40 product lines), Tommy also offers products such as fragrances, belts, bedding, home furnishings, and cosmetics. The company's clean-cut clothing is sold in major department and specialty stores as well as some 165 Tommy Hilfiger shops and outlets.

Product lines 1. Hilfiger Denim, a premium-upscale denim collection for men and women. Designs are inspired by American classics and finished with a modern edge and fresh spirit. 2. True Star Gold, fragrance created by Hilfiger and spokeswoman Beyoncé Knowles 3. True Star, another fragrance created by Hilfiger and with spokesperson Beyoncé Knowles & True Star Men, a fragrance created by Hilfiger and with spokesperson Enrique Iglesias 4. Tommy Girl, fragrance for women 5. Red Label, a line of denim-themed products including jeans, t-shirts, and sweatshirts 6. H by Tommy Hilfiger, an upscale line which was ended after Tommy Hilfger sold his company, the same sort of style is now carried on under the Tommy Hilfiger label in their specialty stores 7. Tommy Hilfiger, the company line of clothes sold in department stores, company stores, and specialty stores 8. Tommy Sport, a defunct line that came out in the 1990s and capitalized on Hilfiger's popularity in urban areas. 9. Tommy Hilfiger for the Home, a line of bedding and bath products 10. Tommy Sailing, was due to be released in January or February 2007.

Controversies and Criticisms Hilfiger has been criticized for manufacturing clothes in sweatshop conditions in the United States territory of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands. As a U.S. Commonwealth, clothes made there can be labeled "Made in the USA", but federal labor laws including the minimum wage do not apply. In March 2000, the company, along with other defendants, settled a class action suit brought by Saipan garment workers, which had alleged mistreatment by over 20 large U.S. clothing manufacturers. Although Hilfiger claims to have always targeted his clothing "for the people," he was embroiled in controversy after a story made its way through the media rumor mill, accusing Hilfiger of racist remarks. The racist comments have been denied by media personalities and Hilfiger himself, and his line continues to be worn by everyone from yuppies to rappers.

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