OVER the past few seasons, the Tommy Hilfiger empire has undergone something of a revival, transforming from its street-y Nineties incarnation into a critically and commercially successful brand capitalising on the current cult-of-preppy style – in part due to the influence of designer Peter Som acting as consultant. Long the undisputed king of youth-driven sportswear, the Hilfiger of late is compelling, playing around with the classics and fine-tuning the brand's new-found high-end prep signature.
For spring/summer 2012, Hilfiger focused on the fusion of preppy and pop, paying homage to the Sixties – a recurrent theme of the season, though the ensembles here were more amped up Ali McGraw in Love Story, than Mod-style sharp and bold.
Starting with bright orange and blue plaid silks, the collection seamlessly moved into spring knits – a chic orange and burgundy cable-knit sweater sure to be a top seller. The soundtrack, reflecting the contemporary-meets-modernist looks on show, transitioned from a mash up of The Killers and Gorillaz into the Sixties appropriate hits of Rolling Stones and Cream.
Peter Som’s influence became overtly apparent through several ensembles in the gently Sixties-inspired vein, in particular a soft blue and white stripe silk ensemble, and striped silk short sleeved button-down shirt with pleated bib paired with slim fit pants – evocative of Mia Farrow’s covetable outfits in Rosemary’s Baby.
Echoes of the jet-set era came through in a khaki cotton single-breasted suit jacket with blue camouflage silk shirt and matching camouflage cigarette pants ensemble.
For the finale, Hilfiger sent out a surprising brave choice - two kaftans sporting a subtly eccentric harlequin-slash-rugby vibe, in bang-on-trend navy, red, orange and mustard colour-blocked sections, again proving the brand has its finger on the pulse.
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