Tommy Hilfiger and the Collaborators
- Hannah Hargrove
- Oct 4, 2019
- 3 min read
Tommy Hilfiger’s collaborations reveal how the designer has embraced the age of social media.
In September of 2016, American designer Tommy Hilfiger launched his first collaboration with model Gigi Hadid. They would go on to collaborate on a total of four collaborations, all of them incredibly successful. Since then, Hilfiger has done collaborations with Hailey Baldwin and Winnie Harlow, and most recently, Zendaya. Designer and celebrity collaborations aren’t exactly unheard of, so what makes these collabs unique? In addition to the beautiful clothing, Hilfiger’s collaborations have strongly embraced the growing role of social media and internet trends within the world of fashion.
Hilfiger has admitted to implementing the “see now, buy now” movement, which is defined in InStyle magazine as “a movement happening in fashion in which designers make their products available to consumers at the same time that they are shown to the press,” (Wilson, 2019). This instant gratification is evident of the influence modern consumers have had. With online shopping and social media influencers including links to products within their posts, consumers are more invested in fast fashion and immediate satisfaction than ever. In order to embrace this modern world of fashion, Hilfiger has made his designs as readily available as an Instagram post.
In addition to making his designs so readily available, WHO Hilfiger has done his collaborations also reveals how aware the designer is of the impact of social media. Gigi Hadid boasts 50 million Instagram followers, Hailey Beiber (formerly Hailey Baldwin. For the remainder of this blog post, Hailey Beiber will be refered to as “Beiber”) has 22 million, Winnie Harlow 6.9 million, and Zendaya 62.4 million. Hilfiger has admitted that this massive following has had a positive impact on these collaborated collections. When speaking to Vogue, Hilfiger stated:
"We embrace them [the model collaborators], we put them in great ad campaigns, we collab and work with them. But at the same time, their social media following and their fan following helps us, so it's a win-win on both," (Madsen, 2018).
Hilfiger understands how important social media and influential celebrities are. And while the model’s creative skills are relevant in the designs they collaborated on, their effect through social media was essential in the success of these collections. In fact, since launching these “see now, buy now” shows with Hadid, Beiber, Harlow, and Zendaya respectively, the Tommy Hilfiger Instagram account has increased to 12.8 million followers, over 50% since 2016 and Hadid’s first collab, (Wilson, 2019). The designs that have come from Hilfiger’s collaborations are absolutely gorgeous, and it is evident that the appreciation of the collections have been spurred on by social media and their influential collaborators.
In addition to “see now, buy now” and influential social media users, other internet trends have become a part of Hilfiger’s collaborations. For the joint collaboration with Beiber and Harlow, Hilfiger and his team created the hashtag “#TommyICONS,” (Madsen, 2018). Hashtags are important to any social media campaign. In fact, according Smart Insights, social media posts with hashtags receive double the engagement than those without, (Wade, 2017). A trending hashtag is important for anything or anyone trying to gain media traction these days, including a reputable fashion brand. Hilfiger and Zendaya also embraced the body positivity movement, which has found significant traction on social media. In an article from USA Today, it is stated in reference to the collection with Zendaya that,
“The show also celebrated diversity of all kinds, with models of all ages, shapes and colors taking to the runway. Ashley Graham's baby bump was on full display as she strutted, while 60-something JoAni Johnson flaunted her long gray hair and Somali model Halima Aden wore her hijab alongside her Hilfiger look,” (Reed, 2019).
With the influential collaborators, implementation of social media trends, and instant gratification for consumers, Hilfiger is a staple American designer that has embraced the ways in which fashion is created, shared, and purchased these days. Hilfiger and his collaborators have managed to maintain the beautiful designs the brand is known for, just with some twenty-first twists.
References:
Chabbot, S. (2016, August). Tommy Hilfiger x Gigi Hadid Collection: See Pictures From the Collaboration Here. Glamour. Retrieved from https://www.glamour.com/story/tommy-hilfiger-x-gigi-hadid-collection
Hailey Baldwin and Winnie Harlow Front Tommy Icons Fall '18 Collection. (2018, August). Fashion Gone Rogue. Image Retrieved from https://www.fashiongonerogue.com/collection/tommy-hilfiger-tommy-icons-fall-2018/
Madsen, A.C. (2018, September). Hailey Baldwin and Winnie Harlow on their Tommy Hilfiger Collection. Vogue. Retrieved from https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/hailey-baldwin-winnie-harlow-tommy-hilfiger-collection
Mau, D. (2019, February). Get a Sneak Peek at the Tommy x Zendaya Capsule Collection. Fashionista. Image Retrieved from https://fashionista.com/2019/02/tommy-hilfiger-zendaya-lookbook
Reed, A. (2019, September). New York Fashion Week: Zendaya dishes on Tommy Hilfiger collab and ‘inclusivity’. USA Today. Retrieved from https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2019/09/09/zendaya-tommy-hilfiger-collaboration-new-york-fashion-week-apollo-theater/2262068001/
Wade, J. (2017, September). How, When, and Why you should be Using Hashtags. Smart Insights. Retrieved from https://www.smartinsights.com/social-media-marketing/how-when-and-why-you-should-be-using-hashtags/
Wilson, E. (2019, March). Designing Zendaya. InStyle, 26(3), 86-87.
Comments