VisionPlus India

His designing streak came to light during his high-school years, when he opened a small store called People’s Place with just $150. His intent? To bring upscale fashion from New York and London to upstate New York. It was quite a success, and building on the success of his first shop, Hilfiger slowly established a chain of 10 specialty stores in upstate New York by the age of 26. During the '70s, he began designing for the boutiques he had always admired, before moving to New York City in 1979 to pursue a career as a full-time fashion designer. HILFIGER KNEW THAT EFFICIENT MARKETING AND STRATEGIC ADVERTISING WOULD BE THE NEED OF THE HOUR, AND MADE SURE THAT HIS ARRIVAL ONTO THE FASHION SCENE WAS EQUALLY ENTHRALLING It was here that he came across Mohan Murjani, an Indian businessman looking to launch a line of men’s clothing, who believed that combining Hilfiger’s astute entrepreneurial background and his own business know- how, would give them a unique ability to approach men’s fashion in a new way. It was during this time that Hilfiger introduced his first signature collection in 1985 by modernising button-down shirts, chinos, and other time-honoured classics with updated fits and details. The relaxed, youthful attitudes of his first designs have remained a distinctive hallmark throughout all his subsequent collections. Hilfiger knew that efficient marketing and strategic advertising would be the need of the hour, and made sure that his arrival onto the fashion scene was equally enthralling. 23 VISION PLUS INDIA EDITION