Tommy Hilfiger 'Factory': Cool mighty Quinn collab’ unveiled in torrential rain

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Sep 12, 2022

The weather gods were cruel to Tommy Hilfiger on Sunday, but the muses sang succinctly at his rain-drenched show on the shores of New York’s East River. 

A show that climaxed with the latest smart Hilfiger partnership, this time with UK print maniac Richard Quinn. Paired with a signature collection that featured a brand new Tommy Hilfiger logo courtesy of artist Fergus Purcell.

“I collected big, oversized Tommy Hilfiger tartan shirts, in my school days. I had quite a lot of them. It was a nice little link,” revealed Quinn in a pre-show preview with Hilfiger in the American designer’s Madison Avenue headquarters.

Going on to incorporate Johnny Rotten-worthy tartan into this homage, as Quinn worked closely with the Hilfiger creative team. 

“I love the mix of punk influence, the varsity, the jock and the cheerleaders,” laughed Hilfiger, many of whose looks incorporated Purcell’s new graphic.

Quinn has a small but busy team of five in London which creates its own prints in-house, and even supplies other brands. Based on their own drawings which are then digitalised and printed on their two-meter wide, tactile printers.

“I’ve always loved color and print, and the idea of making a proper textile, like a jacquard. Or taking a generic fabric and turning it into something really, really luxury,” explained the burly and bearded Quinn.

The son of two Irish immigrants, Quinn garnered global attention four years ago after winning the inaugural Queen Elizabeth II fashion prize, presented by the late Queen in London.

Asked about his plans for next weekend’s London Fashion Week, Quinn revealed that his Sunday evening show would be pushed back until after the royal funeral, scheduled for Monday, September 19.

With Tommy’s mainline, it was all about playing with the logo and twisting classic elements from the archive. The silhouette was voluminous, from the variety jackets and the great, bold logo-mania parkas in sustainable faux-down jackets or oversized chinos.

“We wanted a big wide open set to build a big set, and there are not that many in Manhattan. Plus, we have great view of the city from this drive-in,” explained Tommy.

Hilfiger first got the idea of linking with Quinn, after seeing Kylie Minogue wore the designer at the British Fashion Awards. “And I thought this stuff is just incredible. Now, in his collection with Hilfiger, I see lots of hints of Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood circa 1967!” insisted Tommy.

For his main collection, Tommy went back to his archive in the 90s and upgraded the silhouette for today. All based on Andy Warhol's legendary 'Factory' of creative talents based in New York's Union Square. 

“We haven’t been oversized in a really long time, but our proportions have changed. Very high waisted and wide-legged and very big,” explained Tommy, who showed massive rugby shirts; dark green plaid mohair sweaters; mini-skirts shown with giant pirate boots; green and black McArthur tartan cardigans and WW great coats.

A new monogram is a fresh identity for moving forward, as Hilfiger has in the virtual world, with a linkup with video game specialist Roblox. A new game was launched as the show kicked off, allowing Hilfiger to offer fans physical clothes, NFTs and 'see now, buy now' clothes all together.

“Young people want instant gratification,” underlined Hilfiger, who pointed to likely best sellers. As examples, he held up a logo cricket sweater once made for Michael Jackson back in 1983, which now comes renamed with the new logo. Or a varsity jacket emblazoned with cloth poppies and sunflowers 

Quinn’s collab’ also featured 100% reversible down jackets, various versions of which were worn by a giant community of rappers at this show. Though the coolest idea was the graphic Tommy Quinn logo seen in a cool dude cowboy jeans and jacket.

Keeping the youth quake going, the cast included Dylan McDean, the 16-year-old son of famed British stylist Tabitha Simmons.

The linkup - which will retail in major Hilfiger stores - started selling immediately as the show happened. Even as the heavens opened on the entire audience. Yet the show was so livewire not a soul sought shelter.