Inspiration - Forty Years of Designer Fashion

Man’s polo shirt and ‘Freedom’ jeans, knitted and woven cotton, machine-embroidered logo, Tommy Hilfiger, 1999

Leather tennis shoes, Nike ‘Court Tradition’, 2006

Accession number 1999. 61.3, 4

The American designer Tommy Hilfiger is famous for his classic, sporty, all-American style clothes. He began his career in fashion retail in 1969 with a small chain of shops in New York State where he sold jeans and flared trousers.

Like Vivienne Westwood, he is a self-taught designer who was forced into making the clothes that his customers wanted but could not find elsewhere. His career took off with the launch of his first menswear collection in 1985, and he now also designs for women and children.

Tommy Hilfiger’s logo resembles a flag and is worked in red, white and blue, the colours featured in this polo shirt and jeans. Both logo and clothes are inspired by the colours of the United States national flag, the Star-Spangled Banner, linking Hilfiger closely with an all-American theme.    

Purchased from Wade Smith, Mathew Street, Liverpool, 1999                              

Back to the top