Tommy Hilfiger has always been a master of a certain kind of American mythmaking. He was probably the first person to introduce the world to the aspirational Americana of glossy campuses, convertible Mustangs and endless East Coast summers.
Since launching his eponymous brand in 1985, Hilfiger has turned varsity stripes, nautical preppy codes and a deft sense of the pop culture zeitgeist into a multi-billion-dollar lifestyle empire. Unlike many of his peers, he’s never looked at fashion as a fortress of exclusivity – he has always made it feel like a block party.
“I think a laid-back element is what people want to show up in,” Hilfiger tells me during our chat in the newly refitted store at Mall of the Emirates. He’s seated with the ease of someone who long ago stopped needing to prove himself.
Even at 74, Hilfiger is still at it, as comfortable walking a store floor in Dubai as he is hosting front-row celebrities in New York. “The reason I’m where I am today is because I surrounded myself with incredible people.” He says it like a mantra, going some way to explaining his longevity.
Long before the term “brand collaboration” had PR departments salivating, Hilfiger was making overtures to musicians. In the 1990s, when streetwear was still largely subcultural, he made the bold move of dressing hip-hop stars such as Snoop Dogg and Aaliyah in his oversized logos. It was a move that scandalised the country club set and electrified everyone else. The result? A brand that wasn’t just seen, but worn, lived in, sung about. The clothes didn’t just sell, they belonged to the culture.
Hilfiger has built a career not only on good taste, but good timing. He knows when to amplify tradition and when to deconstruct it. “I don’t believe in fashion rules,” he says and perhaps that’s the secret to staying relevant across decades – knowing which codes to keep, and which to tweak.
“There’s a lot of exciting things going on in the culture,” Hilfiger says about what keeps him motivated. “Fame, fashion, music, sport. There’s never a dull moment. And that’s all part of the DNA. And I’m still having fun.” He says the last bit with a knowing smile.
He drops names like a man who’s earned the right to: Zendaya, Lewis Hamilton, Shawn Mendes. But these aren’t just a list of friends from dinner parties. These names that have recently collaborated with his brand are proof he still understands the zeitgeist 40 years on. “There’s always someone on the wishlist,” Hilfiger says of any potential future collaborations, “but I can’t reveal that".
He’s as much a tight-lipped business man as he is a creative. And there’s no qualms about that. “I started my business when I was still in school. I opened a shop for people who loved music and fashion,” he says of People’s Place, the shop he opened in Elmira, a small town in New York State. With $150, he drove into New York City to buy 20 pairs of bell-bottom jeans to sell in the store. It was a place where he could sell “the cool styles we couldn’t find in our small town”.
“In those days, It was the late 60s. It was a time when rock was exploding. During the summer of Woodstock, the English groups were touring all over North America. People had never seen long hair and bell bottoms.” But that electric feeling wasn’t enough. He didn’t want to sell other people’s clothes. He found a business partner and well, the rest is history.
The word “fame” comes up often in our conversation. Not as an aspiration, but as a kind of currency – something to be exchanged for relevance. He classifies it as a category that almost sits above music, cinema and sports. And when I ask what has changed most since he started, it is also linked to how that currency gets traded: “Social media,” he says plainly. Does it influence his process? “We’re on our own journey,” he replies, like someone who’s learnt that it is just one more thing to adapt to.
“I notice you’re wearing olive green,” he says pointing to my workman’s jacket. He tells me there’s something in the collection I’d like.
When we’re done with the sit-down, he takes me around the store looking for the piece. He’s moving through the racks like a salesman on the shop floor. Beyond the iconic collaborations and mega-deals, that’s the true key to his longevity.
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A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Where to apply
Applicants should send their completed applications - CV, covering letter, sample(s) of your work, letter of recommendation - to Nick March, Assistant Editor in Chief at The National and UAE programme administrator for the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism, by 5pm on April 30, 2020.
Please send applications to nmarch@thenational.ae and please mark the subject line as “Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism (UAE programme application)”.
The local advisory board will consider all applications and will interview a short list of candidates in Abu Dhabi in June 2020. Successful candidates will be informed before July 30, 2020.
THE BIO
Mr Al Qassimi is 37 and lives in Dubai
He is a keen drummer and loves gardening
His favourite way to unwind is spending time with his two children and cooking
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
World Cricket League Division 2
In Windhoek, Namibia - Top two teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which starts on March 4.
UAE fixtures
Thursday February 8, v Kenya; Friday February 9, v Canada; Sunday February 11, v Nepal; Monday February 12, v Oman; Wednesday February 14, v Namibia; Thursday February 15, final
Remaining fixtures
- August 29 – UAE v Saudi Arabia, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
- September 5 – Iraq v UAE, Amman, Jordan (venue TBC)
EXPATS
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
THE BIO
Age: 33
Favourite quote: “If you’re going through hell, keep going” Winston Churchill
Favourite breed of dog: All of them. I can’t possibly pick a favourite.
Favourite place in the UAE: The Stray Dogs Centre in Umm Al Quwain. It sounds predictable, but it honestly is my favourite place to spend time. Surrounded by hundreds of dogs that love you - what could possibly be better than that?
Favourite colour: All the colours that dogs come in
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies direct from Dubai to Rio de Janeiro from Dh7,000 return including taxes. Avianca fliles from Rio to Cusco via Lima from $399 (Dhxx) return including taxes.
The trip
From US$1,830 per deluxe cabin, twin share, for the one-night Spirit of the Water itinerary and US$4,630 per deluxe cabin for the Peruvian Highlands itinerary, inclusive of meals, and beverages. Surcharges apply for some excursions.
