Tommy Hilfiger recalls India's key role in brand's 40-year journey

Hilfiger said that it was Mohan Murjani who pushed him in 1985 to build what is today one of the world's premium lifestyle brands

Tommy Hilfiger is marking 40 years of the brand’s journey by revisiting its roots — and India, he says, played a key role in its beginning.

 

Speaking about the brand’s history during his visit to India to celebrate its entry into the fourth decade, Hilfiger said it was Mohan Murjani who encouraged him in 1985 to build what is today one of the world’s premium lifestyle brands.

 

Hilfiger said, “When I first met him (Murjani), I was in the process of going to work for Calvin Klein, and he asked me what I was doing. I said, ‘I’m going to go to work for Calvin Klein’. He said, ‘No, don’t do that. Let’s start the Tommy Hilfiger brand together’.”

 

At an event in Mumbai to mark the brand’s 40-year milestone, Hilfiger said he began his career by designing his first collection in 1985, which came to life in a small factory in the Mumbai suburb of Santacruz.

 

While designing that first collection, the septuagenarian said he focused on creating something he would want to wear himself.

 

“I wanted to wear casual, preppy, all-American sporty clothes, but I wanted mine to be much more relaxed and cool, rather than stiff and very formal. And that was really at the beginning of the casualisation of America, and then the world, where people started dressing in a much more relaxed way,” he said.

 

Though the brand began with menswear, it added women’s clothing after completing a decade.

 

While Tommy Hilfiger took its first steps in India in the early years, it officially entered the market only in the early 2000s through a partnership with Gujarat-based textile firm Arvind Fashions.

 

According to Arvind Fashions’ 2023-24 annual report, Tommy Hilfiger now has 95 stores across 38 cities. In India, the brand’s approximate price range is between ₹1,999 and ₹18,999.

 

Speaking about the strength of the partnership with Arvind, Hilfiger said, “We have built a tremendous business based on the strength of our partners here.”

 

He also recalled visiting the brand around 35 years ago and being impressed with Arvind’s operations.

 

Apart from Tommy Hilfiger, Arvind Fashion also manages international brands like Calvin Klein, US Polo Assn., Arrow, and Flying Machine.