Tommy Hilfiger Brings His See-Now, Buy-Now Show To London Fashion Week

Following stops in New York City and Venice Beach, California, Tommy Hilfiger’s travelling spectacle of a fashion show, “Tommynow,” will arrive in London on Tuesday just in time to close out Fashion Week. The show, inspired by Hilfiger’s love of rock and grunge styles of the Nineties, will feature women’s and men’s looks together for the first time since 2010. It will also unveil the third installment of Hilfiger’s ongoing - and highly successful - collaboration with model and ambassador Gigi Hadid.

Plenty of designers have shuffled back and forth in recent memory, switching from city to city in search of a fresh stage; but few, if any, seem to share aspirations as ambitious or as inclusive as Hilfiger, who will host both industry members and as many as 2,000 members of the public at the event. To see these events merely as profligate undertakings, where supermodels with eight-figure Instagram followings parade against a colourful backdrop, is to miss the point entirely.

“Tommynow continues to put the consumer at the heart of the event, fusing fashion, pop culture and entertainment, and connecting with our global fans in an authentic way,” Hilfiger told Vogue over e-mail ahead of his show. Last year, for the inaugural Tommynow event, Hilfiger transformed a New York pier into a carnival on the boardwalk, inviting participation from the press and consumers alike. Earlier this year, he rebranded Venice Beach as “Tommyland,” a theme park complete with flamethrowers, food stands and a performance by Fergie for the 3,000 guests in attendance.

While some brands have abandoned the see-now, buy-now model in recent months, Hilfiger says it “continu[es] to exceed expectations season after season.” He sees nothing wrong in giving his customers exactly what they want, when and how they want it. “Expectations are constantly changing, and our [show] format fulfils that demand for instant gratification,” he explains.“Every brand is different, and each needs to consider what’s best for them.”

The London show will mark Hilfiger’s third see-now, buy-now event so far, but it will also be the first to take place in Europe, where his business is booming. That the event is being held at the Roundhouse, the legendary concert venue in Camden, is telling - reflective of the ongoing cultural exchange between the designer and the world of music. But picking a stage is just the first of many steps Hilfiger has taken in preparation for this international debut. “We love to break conventions,” he tells Vogue. “Tommynow acts as an incubator for innovation.”

In some sense, Hilfiger sees the present moment as being on the course of a trajectory he set himself on several decades prior, when he first started designing clothes. “Our original brand DNA is the starting point of everything we do, and our designs are rooted in classic American cool,” he writes. “It’s about celebrating individuality, breaking conventions and keeping the relentless optimistic spirit that I founded the brand on.”

Although the Tommy Hilfiger brand might be less established as a cultural institution in some parts of the world when compared to his native America, Hilfiger has sustained his brand’s momentum beyond geographical borders, well into the new millennium, with the help of a few stars. In the Nineties, Hilfiger’s clothes could be seen on the backs of Aaliyah, and Snoop Dogg; today, it’s on the likes of A$AP Rocky and Zayn Malik.

At the end of the night, his gaze will inevitably shift forward - into the future. “Each season, we continue to select locations and times that complement the collections,” Hilfiger tells Vogue. Though there is no word on where the next Tommynow event will take place after its departure from London, “I’m always dreaming of what we could be doing tomorrow,” he continues. “And as I always say, the best is yet to come.”