Tommy Hilfiger has been in business 20 long years, and he spared no extravagance last night to celebrate the milestone anniversary. As the lights dimmed on a star-studded front row that included Lou Reed, Paris Hilton, Jason Lewis, and Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas, who was scheduled to perform at the after-party, a movie of the designer s career highlights began rolling on the runway s enormous screen. Clips from his myriad rock concerts, fashion shows, countless celebrity photo ops, and reality TV hit The Cut whizzed past to a soundtrack by David Bowie, Lenny Kravitz, and Hilfiger s old pal, Mr. Jagger.
Next came the models: exactly 100 of them, in tried-and-true preppy staples like seersucker suits, madras bermudas, rugby sweaters, and tan "I spent the summer at the beach" bare feet. In a tongue-in-cheek nod to his early days as a hip-hop clothier, boxers peeked over the waistbands of low-slung khakis and Nantucket-red pants, but everything else—tennis-racket-print shirtdress, anyone?—looked pulled from a Kennedy s closet. A huge beaded anchor splayed across a flaring skirt took the all-American and nautical themes at least a league too far, but Hilfiger made no apologies. As he came out for an enthusiastic bow, he sang along to the Rolling Stones hit "Only Rock n Roll": "I like it, I like it."
