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gallery
November 1, 2016

Tracing Tommy Hilfiger’s All-American Career

By Chloe Anello

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Photo: Douglas Keeve

In 1985, a billboard in Times Square called Tommy Hilfiger “the next big thing in American fashion,” alongside ads for established brands like Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein. Now, over 30 years later, the label has become a multibillion-dollar household name.

Hilfiger started his career as a scrappy entrepreneur and self-proclaimed dreamer. Originally known for modernizing quintessential button-downs and chinos, he has consistently taken a youthful approach to American classics — like this year, when he produced an Instagram-friendly capsule collection with Gigi Hadid that immediately sold out.

In his book American Dreamer: My Life in Fashion & Business, written with Peter Knobler, Hilfiger celebrates the brand’s history. Out today from Ballantine, the book chronicles never-before-told stories — everything from Hilfiger flunking his sophomore year of high school to dressing celebrities like Beyoncé and Britney Spears.

Click ahead for a preview.

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1 / 14 Photos
Photo: George Lois; Carl Fischer
Photo: Douglas Keeve
Hitchhiking to see Stonehenge.  Photo: Courtesy of Tommy Hilfiger Archives
Tommy Hilfiger presents the Lenny Kravitz Freedom Tour  Photo: Dan and Corina Lecca Photo
Jason Lewis in Nantucket for the Tartan campaign  Photo: Michael Toth/Toth + Co
Britney Spears's Baby One More Time Tour presented by Tommy Hilfiger Photo: Peter Arnell
Hilfiger with Beyoncé.  Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage
Photo: Sante D’Orazio/Trunk Archive
Tommy Jeans' 1999 campaign  Photo: Peter Arnell
Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage
Hilfiger with Karl Lagerfeld  Photo: James Devaney/This content is subject to copyright.
Hilfiger with wife Dee Photo: Richard Phibbs
People's Place, Elmire, NY Photo: Courtesy of Tommy Hilfiger Archives
Hangman campaign  Photo: Created by George Lois and Luke Lois
1 / 14

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