Hailey Baldwin And Winnie Harlow On Their Tommy Hilfiger Collection

When Tommy Hilfiger decided to take his show to Shanghai on Tuesday evening, he faced an almost impossible challenge. Who could replace Gigi Hadid as his brand's all-American, perfectly Generation Z poster girl? "We thought, who are the icons of tomorrow?" the designer said, nestled in a sofa in a suite at the Peninsula on the Huangpu River. He found his answer in two of the most photographed models of the moment, Hailey Baldwin and Winnie Harlow. "Winnie because she has overcome incredible obstacles. She's got an amazing spirit, she's not only smart, but beautiful and fun," Hilfiger said. "Hailey has always been an angel; we have always loved Hailey. She has always been second fiddle to Gigi on the runway, but she's come into her own." When he hired them months ago, he couldn't have predicted the media storm that would hit both girls in July following news in the romance department: Baldwin with her engagement to Justin Bieber, and Harlow when she confirmed her relationship with Wiz Khalifa. "Hailey's trajectory and fame went to yet another level, and Winnie's fame went from here to here at the same time," Hilfiger acknowledged.

Baldwin, who grew up in a famous family but has experienced a different level of attention since July, seemed unfazed. "I have really, really strong family values. I'm a really big family person and I think that that's a really important part of your core as a person, so I stick to that," she said the morning of the show. The faintest hint of a Bieber question was swiftly shut down by a publicist, but Baldwin said the wedding planning was going just fine. Over the summer, pictures of her and Bieber out and about in New York in all their retro chicness have brightened the internet's gossip columns. There's something rather infectious about their millennial love. "I just try to be who I am out in public with everybody as I am behind closed doors," 21-year-old Baldwin said, asked why she thinks she resonates with a young audience. "I would be wanting to give the same advice to somebody on Instagram that I would be to someone at a table."

To Hilfiger, detecting and celebrating the voices of the youth is second nature. "We embrace them, we put them in great ad campaigns, we collab and work with them. But at the same time, their social media following and their fan following helps us, so it's a win-win on both," he reflected. "We've been fortunate in choosing people that are close to the DNA of our brand, and meaningful in our culture. When we brought Britney Spears in 25 years ago, nobody knew who she was. The day "Baby... One More Time" broke was the same day we photographed her for the Tommy Jeans campaign. In, I think, 1996 we were doing a fashion show at Macy's and the DJ cancelled, so my brother Andy brought me these three girls, who got on stage and did their music. At the end, I turned around and said, 'Who is that girl in the middle? She's going to be amazing.' And he said, 'Beyoncé.' She became the face of our fragrance. Prior to that we had Aliyah." In the nostalgic eyes of millennials, these girls are pop culture role models. "I've always been so inspired by stuff from the Nineties, like the windbreaker Aliyah-era stuff that they've done. So, I just wanted to stick to that and bring my own twist to it," Baldwin said, referring to the pieces she helped design for the Shanghai collection, #TommyICONS.

"I was like, wait, does Tommy love me as much as I love him?" Winnie Harlow laughed, talking about landing the ambassadorship. "I guess he does, and now we're collaborating!" If Baldwin reflects the Hollywood royalty side to millennial fame, Harlow - whose pigmentation is affected by the skin condition vitiligo - represents the defiance and astute sense of identity of her generation. "I came into the modelling industry at a time where we were just on the brink of 'oh is there going to be a shift', and I feel like I've been one of those models who has continued the wheel of difference - and change and equality and diversity - in our industry," she said. "And I feel like Tommy putting me as the face of his brand – I could, like, literally cry – is a big statement, not only for his brand, but for all industries to see that. Diversity is necessary, and representation really does matter." Hilfiger explained how he selects his poster girls from the most millennial of criteria: "Transparency and authenticity. It's got to be real. Because people see right through it otherwise. I think there's a big movement towards female empowerment, and that's something the girls do stand for; Winnie in particular," he reflected. "There has to be some deeper meaning behind, other than 'cool person, cool clothes' and a see-now-buy-now fashion experience. And if you look at what we're doing in the future, we're really looking at sustainability as a major part of our existence. They all respect that we're a company with values, and a company with real sincerity in doing it."