Tommy Hilfiger Brings Prep Classics to Disney for Its 100th Anniversary
Picture Mickey Mouse as a preppie.
For the celebration of Disney’s 100th anniversary, Tommy Hilfiger is partnering with Disney for a Disney x Tommy collaboration.
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For the first time, Mickey and his friends, such as Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Goofy, Donald Duck and Daisy Duck, will enter the world of college prep, appearing in Hilfiger’s archival classics. The characters will be drawn in manga, the popular Japanese comic cartoon style. The collection launches globally on Thursday with styles for women, men and kids.
“An iconic anniversary, an iconic brand and a collaboration with their most iconic characters — there is no better way to join fans around the world in celebrating Disney’s 100th anniversary,” said Tommy Hilfiger. “Colliding Mickey and friends with the Tommy Hilfiger brand DNA has been one of our most fun collaborations to date. It’s a collective edition of our favorite prep classics.”
Tasia Filippatos, president, Disney Consumer Products, Games and Publishing, said, “Disney and Tommy Hilfiger are two beloved brands that have impacted culture on a global scale. The Disney x Tommy collection is a true celebration of Disney’s 100th anniversary and showcases the creativity and storytelling that both Disney and Tommy Hilfiger are known for.”
The Disney x Tommy collection reimagines signature prep classics with playful patterns and prints. The collection features 94 styles across womenswear and menswear, 42 styles for kidswear and 14 Adaptive styles, all sporting the manga makeover of Disney’s iconic characters.
For example, there are playful takes on the rugby shirt, chinos and blazer, with details including jacquard prints of a reinvented TH Monogram and Mickey’s silhouette. Manga Mickey is evident in the signature Ithaca stripe on shirts and shirt dresses, and allover prints are reminiscent of the original craft of Disney artists with ink blots and hand-drawn sketches. A Minnie Mouse polka dot enlivens a cricket jersey and woven jumper.
The adaptive pieces feature T-shirts, polos and dresses with easy magnetic closures, as well as shorts and pants with pull up loops to aid those with limited dexterity.
Retail prices range from $34.50 for a cap to $449 for a jacket. The size range is XS to XXL for men’s, XXS to XXXL for women, and 4-14 for kids.
The Hilfiger design team created the collections, and the Disney artists created the drawings. The drawings were a collaborative project among Shigeki Kanda, director, Character Art, APAC; Kuzuhiro Murase, art manager, Character Art, APAC, and Yuki Salto, senior designer, creative design, APAC.
Kanda, for example, said he took inspiration from Japanese anime and manga styles to incorporate into artwork for the manga makeover of Disney’s Mickey and friends. Some of these elements include the big sparkling eyes expressions to reflect “wonder” and the “three lines” that typically appear on the cheeks of characters for a “glow effect” on their faces.” Stylistically, the artwork also used more straight lines to intentionally give viewers the impression of the flatness of the characters.
The collection, which is being offered for one season, will be available at select Tommy Hilfiger stores, on tommy.com, on shopDisney.com, at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort, with key wholesale partners and on social media.
The campaign, photographed by Paola Kudacki, features singer-songwriter Henry Lau, actor Lucien Laviscount and models Soo Joo Park, Stella Maxwell and Reign Judge. The cast takes part in a digital fashion show that launches on global social platforms wearing the playful pieces as they make their way through a Disney campus facade.
The campaign, which breaks globally Thursday (it has been teased in China since May 15), will appear on owned, paid, earned and social channels.
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