There are no rain checks during fashion week. This was made clear on Sunday night when Tommy Hilfiger presented its “See Now, Buy Now” autumn/winter 2022 collection at Brooklyn’s Skyline Drive-In theatre. A steady mist blanketed the outdoor showcase, forcing audience members to don plastic ponchos over their lavish outfits and models to stomp across a slick runway. Wet hair aside, the weather matched the moody, hard-edged version of prep Hilfiger seems interested in this season. Whips, harnesses, spiked leather jackets? The quintessentially American designer has shifted from outfitting the honour roll student to the class troublemaker.
The show kicked off with a bounty of dramatically oversized and voluminous pieces. There was a striped varsity polo that fell far below a male model’s knees (which, on the right person, could be styled as a dress, if you so pleased). Baggy chinos with enough room for two. What can only best be described as thicc scarves wrapped around the neck several times with plenty of fabric to spare. At one point, a model came strutting out in a monogrammed jumpsuit, cracking a long whip against the rain. And right after her came a Tommy Hilfiger cowboy—complete with a Texas-sized gallon hat and a chest harness. Rebellion was in the air.
Part of the showcase included Hilfiger’s recently released collaboration with British designer Richard Quinn. These limited-edition transatlantic pieces, on sale now, seemed to borrow from the grunge scene located across the pond, with menacing spiked leather jackets and mosh-ready boots. Travis Barker, who attended the show with Kourtney Kardashian-Barker, Kris Jenner, and Corey Gamble, wore one of the collection’s many dramatic puffers, which felt more kimono than jacket, with black sunglasses on and no shirt underneath. Also in the audience: pop singer Shawn Mendes, Kate Moss, and EGOT-winner John Legend.
A standout aspect of the large-scale event was the remarkably broad and inclusive casting. There was fabulous diversity in age, race, and body types throughout the show. Activist and land protector Quannah Chasinghorse, model Winnie Harlow, and even former Interview Magazine editor Bob Colacello, who first stepped into the role in 1971, made appearances. If the world of prep once felt rarified and exclusionary to those on the margins—as recently explored in the conversation-sparking Netflix documentary White Hot—this collection seemed to be all about highlighting the considered inclusivity of the Hilfiger brand today.
For the show’s grand finale, Barker hopped out of his seat and went from viewer to participant. He jumped on stage, shedded his coat, and rocked out on the drums with a band. The New York skyline shone bright behind him. Droplets of rain flew up with each drum beat. A drone hovered in the sky and captured everything, so shoppers at home could watch the action on a livestream and, then, maybe, go on Roblox and buy some of TH’s metaverse fashion. This is the Tommy Hilfiger brand in 2022: big, inclusive, and a little rowdy.
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