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The Meteoric Rise of Tommy Hilfiger as a Recognized Brand Name "The Four Great
American Designers for Men Are: R---- L-----, P---- E----, C----- K----, T----
H-------". When this Wheel of Fortune-style advertisement was unveiled in
1985, the public easily identified the first three designers as Ralph Lauren,
Perry Ellis, and Calvin Klein, but who was this fourth designer? The fourth
designer, to whom the ad belonged to, was Tommy Hilfiger. At that time, Tommy
Hilfiger and his recently begun company specializing in mens fashions were
unknown. However, in less that a decade since that first advertisement
appeared, Tommy Hilfiger has become a hugely successful company at the
forefront of the fashion industry. As Jack Hyde, a Fashion Institute of
Technology professor, has stated, "Its Hilfiger, Hilfiger, Hilfiger." Tommy
Hilfiger, 48, founder, designer, and honorary chairman of the Hong Kong-based
company that bears his name, was born and raised in the small town of Elmira,
New York. ... In 1969, Hilfiger and two friends opened
Peoples Place, a store specializing in trendy fashions and other items. ... Hilfiger, wanting to design clothes
rather than purchase them from the manufacturer, began to consider becoming a
designer. When his Peoples Place chain went bankrupt in 1977, Hilfiger moved
to New York and worked as a designer, even though he had never attended design
school, for various companies until 1984, when Tommy Hilfiger the company was
born.
Approximate Word count = 1072
Approximate Pages = 4.3
(250 words per page double spaced)
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