For years, designer Tommy Hilfiger called New York City’s famed Plaza Hotel home. (He and his wife Dee formerly lived in its $50 million penthouse.) While he’s since vacated the premises, Hilfiger’s Big Apple show today saw him return home in a way: he invited guests back to the hotel to showcase his new spring 2027 collection. (In the main lobby, that is—not the ritzy private residence, where guests were invited to sip champagne before show time.) “It’s like bringing people back into my home,” said Hilfiger. “It’s iconic New York, and we thought this show should have an experience. We believe in fashiontainment.”
Entertaining it was: Gigi Hadid opened the show with a bang, wearing a slouchy khaki blazer and cherry-red trousers. If one’s wardrobe veers preppy-chic, the new assortment is perfect for such a mood: Hilfiger took on his all-American signatures—in his shades of red, white and navy blue—and reinterpreted his house codes in new ways, dipping into his vast archive to do so. “We decided to take our archival classics and remix them—trying to make them more modern and evolving forward,” he said.
It’s always a dangerous game to try to bring back the past. The 1980s and 1990s, when Hilfiger skyrocketed and became a household name, are beloved but often overdone in fashion—but for Hilfiger, reviving the glory days made sense, given there’s a steady appetite for his vintage pieces on resale sites. The designer updated his staple rugby shirts this season in luxurious new silks, and revived his sailing jackets with luxe patches of suede. His grungy ’90s plaids came back via elongated board shorts for him, or zipped-up coat dresses for her. “I would call it modern prep,” said Hilfiger of the approach. And he wasn’t wrong: you could easily see any of these pieces on someone today.
But his most clever offerings were the more deep-cut archival references. A long, silky white tank dress featured a re-print of a Times Square billboard that Hilfiger launched back in the mid-1980s: On it, the sign declared the four “greatest American menswear designers” of the time—Ralph Lauren, Perry Ellis, Calvin Klein, and of course, Hilfiger himself. Today, that list could be debated, but there is no questioning Hilfiger’s constant, longstanding ability to keep himself in the contemporary fashion fray.
Sure, for once, it would be fun to see Hilfiger lean away from his red, blue, and white logos—this season, they were done on extra-extra large tote bags, and as cheeky bucket hats—but you can’t blame him for doubling down on what’s made his brand iconic. Four decades after launching, it’s still working. Closing the show, meanwhile, was a surprise performance from the pop star Slayyyter. That mix of Americana fashions, celebrity sightings, and a classic uptown setting cemented what New York Fashion Week is all about. NYFW without Hilfiger would just be less fun.
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