It doesn’t get more New York than Tommy Hilfiger and Grand Central Station: A quintessential New York brand at an iconic New York location.
The scene was a memorable one tonight at the Oyster Bar, with fans crowding the 42nd Street exit of the station ahead of the show. Who were they waiting for? Your guess is as good as mine. It could have been K-pop superstar Junho, whose name was heard the loudest, or perhaps F1 driver Mick Schumacher. Or maybe actors Damson Idris or Edison Chen, or even influencers Sofia Richie or Noah Beck. To say that this show’s seating chart looked like a TikTok “For You Page” come to life would be an understatement.
Once past the crowds and into the opulent venue, the mood was celebratory. Hilfiger returned to New York Fashion Week after a year away, staging a dinnertime show just a stone’s throw from his HQ on Madison Avenue. “We’ve been all over the world by now,” he said, speaking of the world tour he embarked on a few years back, taking his shows to London, Paris, Shanghai, and more. But “New York is home. It felt like it was time to commit to New York Fashion Week fully.”
New York–ness didn’t come just by way of the location. Hilfiger is known for his American sportswear classics: a sharp pair of khaki chinos, a polo shirt, a navy cable-knit sweater, a great camel coat. This season, he was determined to give them a New York makeover, describing the city as the home of “classic American cool.”
All the Tommy essentials were there, but this time with an undeniably fresh point of view. Varsity jackets and peacoats were cut slightly oversized with hefty, boxy proportions, as were Hilfiger’s tried-and-true chinos and crewneck sweaters. His rugby and polo shirts were reimagined as playful preppy dresses, and prim button-downs received supersized stiffened collars for a dressier effect. The winner in this lineup was Look 8, which Hilfiger said he found himself returning to: A red rugby tee paired with an oversized camel jacket and a pleated midiskirt. It was the realization of Hilfiger’s efforts here—equal parts SoHo and Park Avenue—chic, essential, easy, and decisively grown-up.
Tonight Hilfiger took claim of the look he first started offering just shy of 40 years ago, his celebration crowned by a playful performance by the musician Jon Batiste, who had even the most jaded of fashion folk grinning and on their feet. “It’s all about relevant shapes, relevant details, and making it wearable and affordable,” said Hilfiger, “but above all, it still has to be Tommy.” This was one memorable, and very Tommy, New York minute.
