
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, August 31, 1994                   TAG: 9408310031
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: SANDRA BROWN KELLY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

DESIGNER WITH MANILOW TOUCH CREATES HIS OWN NICHE

In 1986, when almost no one had heard of Tommy Hilfiger, the men's clothing designer launched an advertising campaign that hailed him as one of the "four great American designers."

Partly because of that moxie, Hilfiger is sometimes identified as more marketer than designer. But he likely doesn't care about either as he continues to march over such clothing names as Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren and Geoffrey Beene.

Hilfiger says his fashions are classics with a twist. The twist might be a chambray shirt with collar lined in an oxford stripe or a polo shirt trimmed in chambray. The clothes are designed to be bought as outfits - shirts, pants, sweaters and jackets.

In 1993, his company sold $227 million worth of twists.

Now Hilfiger is working on a 1996 launch of a women's clothing line that will fit somewhere between the sort-of-expensive designs of Liz Claiborne Inc. and the even pricier lines of Donna Karan Corp.

"I want to dress the girl who dates or is married to the guy who wears my clothes," is how Hilfiger stated his mission to Women's Wear Daily.

Sounds sort of Barry Manilowish, doesn't it? And Hilfiger is starting to pop up as often as Manilow used to. The Aug. 22 issue of Advertising Age has an interview with the designer and a picture of him walking the runway like the models at his last show.

Personally, I never gave a fig about Hilfiger until about a year ago when I sat in the corporate offices at Goody's Family Clothing in Knoxville and watched the company chairman model Goody's version of Tommy Hilfiger designs.

Robert Goodfriend, who looks enough like a model to pass for one, put on a nautical shirt bearing the Ivy Crew label and raved about how it was every bit as good, if not better, than the more costly Hilfiger product. A basic Hilfiger shirt costs from $40 to $60.

A short time after the Goody's interview, I listened to the merchandising guru for Leggett department stores, T.C. Leggett, talk about the importance of Hilfiger to his men's departments, where it reigns as a supreme label.

Among the designs from Hilfiger are copies of the bright racing jackets, shirts and pants the company created for the Lotus Formula One Grand Prix crew. Hilfiger sponsors the Lotus team.

Rodney Overstreet, area sales manager for Leggett's men's departments, said Hilfiger clothes appeal most to young professionals in their 20s and 30s. The clothes have a more contemporary fit (oversized) and use bolder colors than designs from other manufacturers, Overstreet said, though he added that he prefers a more conservative look.

Whether you like Hilfiger, he's one of the pace setters in fashion marketing. This fall, billboards went up and ads began for Jockey's Hilfiger underwear. Hilfiger also is collaborating with Atlantic Records to produce "The Tip," a five- to 10-minute TV show that will air on MTV and VH-1 next month and feature Hilfiger interviewing celebrities on why they wear what they do.

Next, he wants a daytime TV show. Manilow is a wimp in marketing compared with this guy.

by CNB