Tommy Hilfiger and Nina Garcia.Photo: Getty Images
It was tough making sense of Tommy Hilfiger’s book party at MoMA last night. Iconic America — the ten-pound coffee table book of “iconic and iconoclastic” images of American pop culture Hilfiger compiled with George Lois — celebrates such a wide swath of stuff we hardly knew what to toast to. The designer, taking the stage to introduce Debbie Harry, explained his book to the audience. “It’s about fashion, art, music, and everything great about our country,” he said. The crowd cheered. We later asked what he likes in pop culture right now. “I love art,” he told us. “Andy Warhol, Norman Rockwell. I love American art.” Okay! (What about his show, on Wednesday — did he know who would open it? “Not yet.” How would he decide? “Um, we usually choose the best girls. The best models.”)
The decorative theme, at least, was inspired by the sixties: white shag carpets, white vinyl pod chairs, Coke bottles at the bar with orange labels and caps instead of red. As for art? Two screens showed projections of words for items that we’re guessing are in the book: “Special Sauce,” “Seeded Bun,” “The Alamo,” and “Twiggy.” Yes, Twiggy is British. —Amy Odell
