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New York Fashion Week: Tommy Hilfiger mines the music festival muse

Looks from the Tommy Hilfiger spring and summer 2015 women's runway collection presented at the Park Avenue Armory during New York Fashion Week.
( Randy Brooke / Getty Images)
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Invitees to Tommy Hilfiger’s spring and summer 2015 women’s runway show already had a pretty big hint at the theme of the collection before the Monday morning show at the Park Avenue Armory here -- thanks to invitations in the form of 45-rpm vinyl records.

The concept came into a bit better focus with the Tommy Hilfiger name in lights above the entrance, TH spelled out in faux flower beds to each side and a runway set piece designed to look like something straight off the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover.

The Inspiration: Even before cracking open the show notes (also tucked inside a 45-rpm sleeve) it was clear the rock ‘n’ roll loving Hilfiger had music on his mind, but was it a leisurely walk down Abbey Road or life in the fast lane? The answer turned out to be a little of each with a collection that was inspired by both the iconic musicians of the ‘60s and ‘70s (Jimi Hendrix and the Beatles among them) and, according to the show notes, “the free-spirited festival girls of today.”

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The look: That gave a lot of leeway for a grab bag of rock ‘n’ roll references, from embellished versions of the concert T-shirt to brocaded band jackets of the Sgt. Pepper cover. There were patchwork denim trousers and vests and flowing diaphanous skirts and dresses that wouldn’t have looked out of place at Woodstock. There were striped, flare-legged trousers seemingly pulled from the closet of a ‘60s-era rocker and multistriped crocheted tunics and ponchos that could have come out of last year’s Coachella.

There was a whole lot of metal in the mix (light touches though -- not heavy metal): metallic leather boots and caps, metal buttons on mohair cardigans, chunky hardware on tops and bags and gold braiding and edging throughout.

There was a star motif throughout the line as well, appearing as allover prints on dresses, skirts and bikinis, appliques on shoes and in outsized versions on the front of faux-fur sweaters and jackets.

Key pieces: The allover star-printed silk chiffon dresses and skirts so sheer and diaphanous that a TSA body imaging machine would provide a more modest silhouette.

The verdict: While some of the more over-the-top pieces in the collection strayed a little too much into costume territory for us (or maybe that was just the fact that some of the models hit the catwalk with electric guitars slung across their backs), overall the “Music Festival Muse” collection was a refreshing departure from Hilfiger’s squeaky-clean preppy image.

Think of it as one part Jimi Hendrix Experience’s “Foxy Lady” and two parts the dirty girl from Pink Floyd’s “Young Lust.”

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