Sawt Falasteen - Hilfiger returns to New York with a new logo and metaverse focus

The American designer had not shown a collection on the catwalks of New York in three years, among the heavy-hitters including Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein who opted out.

"We started the brand in New York -- it is my home," Hilfiger told AFP, explaining his decision to return.

While the designer grants Paris the distinction of global fashion capital, he says New York is at its epicenter, for "pop culture, fashion or music, entertainment, celebrity."

His show on Sunday drew inspiration from Andy Warhol, who Hilfiger dubbed the world's pop art king.

Although most labels are presenting their spring-summer 2023 collections, Hilfiger chose to show a fall collection that better reflected the current changing temperatures -- and also allowed spectators to purchase items in real time.

- Back to basics -

Persistent showers threatened the outdoor show on the banks of the East River, as fog obscured Manhattan's skyscrapers in the distance.

But between a DJ, drag queen performance and Travis Barker on the drums, those in attendance could be distracted from getting soaked.

As a remix of Beyonce's latest hit "Break My Soul" with Madonna's "Vogue" pumped in the background, Hilfiger introduced a return to form, with new takes on the horizontally striped sweatshirts and polos, or large-checked coats, that saw him reinvent prep and embrace hip hop in the 1990s and early 2000s.

To accessorize the classics the designer showed a playful line of ties, long-sleeved gloves, large scarves and heavy necklaces, which adorned a diverse parade of models spanning gender and body type.

"I went back to my archive with my design team," said the designer whose brand, like Calvin Klein, is owned by the Dutch group PVH, and whose global retail sales notched $9.3 billion in 2021.

"And we took everything that was great 25-30 years ago and made it relevant for today."

- Metaverse -

Sunday's novelties included a new Hilfiger monogram, although the brand's iconic logo is still in circulation.

And to add a final touch of modernity, a parallel, virtual show took place simultaneously on the metaverse, on the video game platform Roblox that's populated with avatars.

"If you look at the millions of gamers in the world -- many of them in Asia, by the way -- you're reaching an audience that you would not normally reach through physical fashion," Hilfiger said.

H.Nasr--SF-PST