Tommy Hilfiger helps the less fortunate

Last year saw 59-year-old Tommy Hilfiger clock up 25 years with his eponymous label. The American guru of casual fashion has gone from strength to strength in the past quarter of a century and his clothes have become synonymous with living the classic sports lifestyle. But behind the showy label is a man who has a fascinating personality and plenty of entrepreneurial clout.

Born in upstate New York, Hilfiger was the eldest of nine children and remembers that this meant he had to be "a sort of parent" to his younger brothers and sisters.

"My father was a watchmaker and we were a normal working-class family. I had to help out a lot at home and with the other children," he recalls fondly. His early life gave him valuable lessons in responsibility and working as a team.

A slender, preppy young man in the early 1970s, Hilfiger had no inhibitions about becoming a fashion designer, something he says developed partly because he could not find anything he really liked in the stores.

"In school I started decorating and altering my own jeans," he recalls. While still in his early twenties, he opened his first shop called The People's Palace, in downtown Elmira. It was the beginning of a lifelong career in fashion.

Determined to make a go at it himself and full of youthful ambition, Hilfiger was just 25 when he decided to move to New York City in 1985. Although broke, he turned down jobs with already established designers Calvin Klein and Perry Ellis to promote his own label. "I introduced my first signature collection accompanied by a huge billboard advertising campaign right in Times Square," he reminisces. "I was subsequently named one of the four great American fashion designers for men."

The stellar publicity worked and Hilfiger was catapulted into the international fashion spotlight. Today he is best known for his classic, American-cool garments. "I want my brand to be preppy and effortlessly sophisticated," he explains.

In person, Hilfiger exudes a laid-back but friendly manner — a reflection of the clothes he so admires. He gives quick, one-sentence answers, punctuating each point with a beatific, close-lipped smile. His lean, muscular body exudes an inner peace and Zen calm, the result, he says, of daily yoga sessions.

While he may spend a great deal of time in the spotlight, as he gets older, he has shown that he has a big heart and is particularly interested in improving the lives of those around the world who are less fortunate. Over the years Hilfiger has helped numerous charities with diverse interests.

In early 2010, the designer travelled to Uganda in his role of Global Leader with Millennium Promise, a non-profit organisation founded in 2005, to help those suffering from extreme poverty. "Over the next few years my company will donate around €1.5 million [Dh7.5 million] to help those in need," he explains. "Our efforts will be focused on projects in the impoverished village of Ruhiira in Uganda."

Hilfiger recently toured the 55,000-strong community to get an idea of the situation. Four years ago, 60 per cent of Ruhiira's mostly subsistence farmers were living on less than a dollar a day. Today, thanks to an integrated programme of development interventions, food production has doubled and health and water sanitation facilities have been markedly improved. This has resulted in better maternal health outcomes and a decrease in the incidence of malaria.

"No one could fail to be deeply moved by the serious challenges that villagers face every day in Ruhiira," Hilfiger says. "But, at the same time, I have been incredibly inspired by the community spirit and the desire to make long-term changes. I'm looking forward to regular visits to see how things are improving."

Hilfiger employees will get the chance to travel to Ruhiira in the next five years to help with the development work. A campaign to educate consumers about the programme will follow. The moves have been applauded by Professor Jeffery D. Sachs, the president and co-founder of Millennium Promise. "Tommy's announcement affirms that corporate leaders everywhere can play an indispensable role in educating both their workforce and their consumers about how we can best achieve the Millennium Development Goals."

Hilfiger's benevolent side shone through again in 2010 when he joined forces with his friend and model Milla Jovovich to create a limited-edition handbag. "I am very excited to work with Milla and also to develop our partnership with Breast Health International," says Hilfiger of the plan to donate 50 per cent of the proceeds from the handbag sales to "Fund for Living", a Breast Health International initiative.

While the past few years have been difficult for all those in business, Hilfiger has learnt some valuable lessons. "In times of crisis, people are more interested in quality," he says. "Despite the economic challenges, the world is still expanding and there are more opportunities to be had. But you have to offer a good product."

And expand he has. Last year was an exceptional one for the rugged blond designer's business. February saw the opening of a new flagship store in Cork, Ireland. In March, he opened a massive store in Frankfurt, the second-largest in Europe, and in October there were more opening celebrations in Toronto, Canada. Lovers of the Hilfiger style are spoilt for choice with stores in the UAE and around the world. Dedication to his work is a key factor to his success. "I believe in working hard and playing hard," he admits with a smile. "I have always been very dedicated and it has taken years to get where I am today."

The peripatetic designer spends a lot of time flying around the globe on business and places a lot of importance on looking good and feeling comfortable. "When away from home, I always pack a white Oxford shirt, a navy blazer and a pair of jeans," he says.

He particularly loves going to his European headquarters in Amsterdam. He admits that the Dutch city radiates the type of "cool" which is part of his image. "Amsterdam is a refreshing city to visit and of course I have my favourite haunts there," he confides. "I always find time to go to the restaurant De Kas for a meal. It's in an old greenhouse hidden away in a beautiful park and is very much my sort of place. They grow most of their own vegetables and herbs organically in a kitchen garden and the food is fresh and inspirational."

As part of his 25th anniversary collection, he included garments which took their inspiration from some of his personal style icons, such as Steve McQueen, Grace Kelly and James Dean. "As a child, I was greatly inspired by films and rock stars such as Mick Jagger, Pete Townshend and David Bowie," he confides. "Their style pushed me to follow a career in fashion. If it weren't for rock 'n' roll I wouldn't have become a designer. Music has always been my inspiration but I like to base my success on FAME: Fashion, Art, Music and Entertainment."

The past 25 years haven't all been plain sailing; in fact, there have been a few rough patches for the brand. During the early Nineties the designer managed the seemingly impossible, out-Ralph-Lauren-ing Ralph Lauren and selling an even cleaner, preppier Hamptons-ish glamour to the masses. For a while, every shopping mall in America was crowded with children wearing Hilfiger's easily identifiable designs. But then, in the later part of that decade, the brand strayed from the safe ground of crisp polo shirts and into the bolder and baggier fashions of the rap music world. In the short term, this was a boon for the company as the likes of Snoop Dogg and Coolio were seen in Hilfiger gear on stage and in magazines. "The Hilfiger brand had reached saturation point. It was everywhere," explains Hilfiger, with a combination of pride and regret.

But the music industry, and particularly rap stars, are fickle in their tastes and, as they abandoned the red, white and blue baggies, the company turned back to its core audience, only to discover that the prepsters had moved on to other labels. Looking for a way out of the darkness, they developed a new line, H, which was promoted by singers David Bowie and Iman. This variation on the classic Hilfiger style never really took off. In the late Nineties, there were some who questioned whether the Hilfiger name could return to its former glory.

Throughout this dark period, there was one sign of hope. It was noted that in Europe, the Hilfiger name continued to enjoy a certain level of cachet. Without a rap subculture to sully it, Hilfiger's brand remained at its original level of exclusivity.

"We decided to take the essence of Europe's continued interest in the brand and implement it in the rest of the world," he explains. "The product in the US was broader and more mainstream but in Europe it was more upper-class," he says. "So we got rid of all the big logos and made a new collection that is today much more sophisticated and refined." Appealing to those with higher spending power, Tommy Hilfiger's clothes are now only stocked in up-market department stores, such as Macy's in the US or Harrods in London, and in his luxuriously decorated Tommy Hilfiger stores in most cities worldwide.

After more than 25 years in the fashion business, Hilfiger has strong ideas and plenty of advice for those who wish to emulate his greatness. When asked what young people should do if they want to go into the fashion business, he is very clear. "Don't ever give up. Keep your dream alive. A successful fashion designer is not only a really creative person but also a good businessperson. Always remember that to get to the top, you need to start from the bottom. That's the beginning of the path for every fashion designer."

As part of the ongoing 25th anniversary celebrations, Hilfiger has joined forces with the prestigious French publishing house, Assouline, to create a limited-edition linen-bound scrapbook with more than 200 illustrations and photos covering his career. The 1,000 copies are available at leading Tommy Hilfiger stores for about €500 euros each.

This year is set to be a big year for the label. Tommy Hilfiger has created a dazzling array of clothes which feature patterns on patterns and neon-bright colours. "The coming season is dedicated to travel, city and chic," he says.

Scott Adams is a journalist based in Madrid.