Tommy Hilfiger on George Russell, Formula 1 and Vintage Cars
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LONDON — When Tommy Hilfiger was a young teen in the ‘60s, he and his friends would often visit a Grand Prix racetrack in Watkins Glen, N.Y., a 45-minute drive from his home of Elmira, which is where the only American Formula 1 race was held.
“We couldn’t really afford tickets, but we were close enough to sort of look over the fence to see the race. I remember one time after the race, we jumped the fence and went into the garages to meet some of the drivers,” said the designer in an interview.
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He asked his girlfriend at the time to ask one of the drivers for his racing suit and he obliged; meanwhile, the other girls he was with asked the other drivers for some shirts.
“We had these John Player Lotus racing suits and shirts that we used to wear and everyone would ask where they could get them. It inspired me to really keep an eye on racing fashion,” explained Hilfiger, who has just enlisted the British racing driver George Russell as an ambassador.
The 25-year-old currently competes as part of the Mercedes team in Formula 1.
“I grew up watching F1 and Tommy Hilfiger has an amazing heritage in the sport. I remember seeing the logo many times when rewatching a lot of the archive races and thought it was eye-catching,” said Russell. “To me, it is a pure representation of cool, classic and American style. From wearing my team kit to putting on my roll neck jumper for Christmas.”
Tommy Hilfiger has been the official apparel partner for the Mercedes team since 2018. The brand previously worked with Ferrari in a decades-long partnership and prior to that he sponsored and designed racing gear for the Lotus team in the ‘80s.
Working with a British racing driver is nothing new for the designer — over the last decade he’s forged a friendship that’s both personal and collaborative with Lewis Hamilton. The pair took to the London Fashion Week runway in 2020 for a three-way collaboration with Hamilton and H.E.R. for Tommy Now.
“Our first store outside the U.S. was in Britain and we have a very strong customer base in the U.K. But at the same time, it happens that George looks like he’s out of a Hollywood movie and Lewis is the cool factor that is a leader in the world of sports and fashion today,” said Hilfiger.
“I would say Britain is an extension of America, or America is an extension of Britain. There’s a strong camaraderie between us,” he added, counting the brand’s campaign featuring David Bowie and Iman as one of his favorites over the last 20 years.
F.A.M.E.S. — otherwise fashion, art, music, entertainment and sports — has been the driving force for Tommy Hilfiger to connect and engage with its core customer.
In the late ‘90s, the brand dressed the entire cast of the sci-fi horror “The Faculty,” starring Josh Hartnett and Usher.
Later this year, Hilfiger will be coming back to the big screen in the upcoming, untitled Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt and Damson Idris. The designer is one of the sponsors of the movie, where the brand’s name and logo will be printed onto some of the racing cars.
The designer also is an avid collector of vintage cars.
“I used to have a collection of Ferraris, but I never drove them because either you drive them really fast on really great roads, or you shouldn’t drive them at all, but I collect vintage cars. I have a vintage Rolls Royce and Thunderbird. I drive my Mercedes G-Wagon all the time because it’s so utilitarian and we can put kids in the back,” said Hilfiger.
His love for cars made it to the fall 2000 campaigns shot by Mario Testino with models Angela Lindvall, Jason Shaw and Maggie Rizer posing in vintage red convertibles.
“I’ll never forget it because it was like the ultimate American dream in the ‘50s and ‘60s to have a red convertible in Malibu. So it was a moment in time,” said Hilfiger.
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