Since the late 90’s and early 00’s, Tommy Hilfiger has remained a prominent face in fashion. He designs all sort of pieces such as handbags, shoes, accessories, luggage and clothing. Celebrities such as Aaliyah, Destiny’s Child, Grand Puba, and Snoop Dogg launched his brand into the superstardom that it has become today by wearing his tops that were simply labelled with his signature flag and over it, his name – ‘Tommy Hilfiger’. Not so long ago, he collaborated with Gigi Hadid to create a “shop immediately” online-exclusive collection that was showcased during New York Fashion Week for the season of Spring 2017 which really comes to show the importance of celebrity within his brand.
However, Tommy Hilfiger (the person, not brand) has created headlines by expresses his feelings towards dressing our soon-to-be first lady, Melania Trump. He told WWD at New York City’s Angel Ball, “I think Melania is a very beautiful woman and I think any designer should be proud to dress her. Ivanka is equally as beautiful and smart although she wears her own clothes. I don’t think people should become political about it. Everyone was very happy to dress Michelle [Obama] as well. I think they look great in the clothes. You’re not gonna get much more beautiful than Ivanka or Melania.”
This statement was in response to designer Sophie Theallet’s open letter in regards to dressing Mrs. Trump. Theallet said, “As one who celebrates and strives for diversity, individual freedom, and respect for all lifestyles, I will not participate in dressing or associating in any way with the next First Lady. The rhetoric of racism, sexism, and xenophobia unleashed by her husband’s presidential campaign are incompatible with the shared values we live by.”
Hilfiger’s response of course made a lot of people question his true political feelings, especially after not only staying silent during the entire campaign trail and being caught entering the Trump Tower last week but also after years of accusations of being a racist. The rumors of a racist side of Hilfiger came after an email (which could possibly be fake) exploded in the late 90’s that stating, “Did you see the recent Oprah Winfrey show on which Tommy Hilfiger was a guest? Oprah asked Hilfiger if his alleged statements about people of color were true – he’s been accused of saying things such as ‘If I had known that African-Americans, Hispanics and Asians would buy my clothes, I would not have made them so nice,’ and ‘I wish those people would not buy my clothes – they were made for upper-class whites.’ What did he say when Oprah asked him if he said these things? He said ‘Yes.’ Oprah immediately asked Hilfiger to leave her show. Now, let’s give Hilfiger what he’s asked for – let’s not buy his clothes. Boycott! Please – pass this along.”
Years later, Tommy came onto the Oprah Winfrey show to deny these supposed comments and told Oprah, “I didn’t believe it. I thought it was crazy. Friends of mine said that they had heard the rumor, I said ‘That’s crazy, that can’t be, I was never on the Oprah show, I would never said that. All my friends and family who know me and people who work and people who have grown up with me said, ‘That’s crazy.’” This year alone the rumors have resurfaced after Tommy went on the Wendy Williams Show and was asked by Williams herself about it. He replied with a somewhat similar response by saying, “That would be pretty stupid, wouldn’t it? Well when I started my brand, I was 18 years and we opened a shop called ‘People’s Place’, it was for the people, I’ve always wanted my brand to be offered to a broad range of people – everybody. I wanted to build a big lifestyle brand – globally.”
Like many things of the Internet, everyone took off with that rumor [of Hilfiger] and immediately connected it with his unofficial support of Donald Trump. Do I personally claim that Hilfiger is racist? No, that would feel like a complete reach. Does a majority of the Internet claim that Hilfiger is a racist? Yes, because it feels fishy; something feels off from both of his appearances on the shows. Regardless of my beliefs, I wouldn’t label him a racist simply for the lack of evidence. Evidence is always recommended.
