Grace Jones, 70, and Pat Cleveland, 68, return to the catwalk for Tommy Hilfiger’s Instagram-bait show
In November 1973 there was a historic fashion show in Paris, a so-called ‘Battle of Versailles’, which saw five French designers (Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Hubert de Givenchy, Pierre Cardin and Emanuel Ungaro) pit their collections against five Americans (Oscar de la Renta, Stephen Burrows, Halston, Bill Blass, and Anne Klein) with models leading a dramatic walk off.
The point of it all was to raise money for restoration at the Palace of Versailles, but the designers inadvertently created what would now be considered a ‘Major Instagram Content Moment’ and so the battle has upheld status in the fashion history books accordingly.
Tommy Hilfiger, a modern-day king of these ‘Major Instagram Content Moments’, saw fit to draw inspiration from the battle for his latest TOMMYNOW collection, even hiring Pat Cleveland, 68, who had walked in the original show, to theatrically swirl in a lamé cape and pump up his already-hyped, 1,300-strong crowd in the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.
The show marked the start of Hilfiger’s new collaboration with American actress Zendaya, who replaces Gigi Hadid as the brand’s ambassador and global influencer. Hilfiger is a master of this practiced formula now; hire a star with a huge following as a collaborator (there are 54 million who hang onto Zendaya’s every word on Instagram), throw an event more like a rock concert than a fashion show, with a seemingly-limitless budget and plan experiences that the audience will not be able to resist sharing on social media. Crucially, too, Hilfiger ensures that everything his audience sees online is immediately available to buy while momentum is high.
The clothes were a literal interpretation of the Seventies; curvy, flared denim was modelled by women of all sizes, there were gold lurex knitted halter necks and even more lamé. Concert-esque merchandise is a very important part of the TOMMYNOW show strategy, so at one point around 30 models danced onto the stage wearing logo vest tops, platform heels and flares, en mass, to hammer home the concept in case you were in any way left unsure.
If you hadn’t already been tempted to post about Pat, or Zendaya, or the fifty roller skaters who performed at the start of the show, then Hilfiger knew he would get you with his finale trick. The icon Grace Jones, 70, sauntered out solo onto his enormous catwalk dancing in a pair of Zendaya-designed thigh high boots, a high-shine striped jacket and a gold knitted leotard. She looked sensational, age-defying. Indeed, I posted.
That’s the thing with Hilfiger. You know that everything you can see is unashamedly commercialised and Tommy-fied, but you don’t mind, it’s fun. He’s an American in Paris, and a showman. If a modern-day version of that battle really had taken place last night, he would have thrown everything he had at it to ensure that he won - even if the final judgement was based on theatrics and Instagram ‘likes’ alone.
