Tommy Hilfiger hailed as a 'pioneer' of hip-hop music

17 April 2023

Tommy Hilfiger's brother claims the designer was a key figure in the hip-hop movement.

Tommy Hilfiger

The rap genre originated in the Bronx borough of New York in the 1970s and is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, after dominating the charts throughout the '80s, '90s and 2000s.

Designer Andy Hilfiger - who worked alongside his brother Tommy to develop the globally successful fashion brand, Tommy Hilfiger - insists the sibling pair were pioneers of the culture when it first exploded.

He told WWD: “We were an early pioneer of the culture and the movement and supported the whole thing.

“I think [hip-hop] will always resonate. Once you start something that becomes so big, it really doesn’t go away. It’s always a part of the DNA. Music has always been a part of pop culture and Tommy Hilfiger.”

Tommy, 72, capitalised on the influence of the '90s hip-hop scene and saw the potential of the buying power. Hilfiger began gifting clothes to rappers who name dropped the designer and wore his clothes.

As the Hilfiger brand thrived so did the idea behind collaborating with artists and designers.

Tommy said: “When [the musicians] were wearing the clothes, all of their fans started wearing the clothes.

“We dressed Snoop Dogg for ‘SNL’ and everyone wanted that shirt — preppies, athletes, surfers, skaters, rockers, all different types of people. The culture was becoming very relevant and present in the ‘90s. I would say we were one of the top brands of choice and this was when a lot of department stores were telling us that we should not have logos and we should not do oversize. They were pushing back, but the street was telling us that was the future trend and we were listening to the consumers.”

Riding on Hilfiger’s success, other brands started to follow suit in collaborating with hip-hop stars which had a huge impact on the fashion industry.

In 1986, Run-DMC signed a $1 million endorsement deal with Adidas following their hit song ‘My Adidas’, which marked a first brand deal in the world of hip-hop.