Tommy Hilfiger to stage spring 2017 see-now-buy-now show in L.A.
Tommy Hilfiger is taking his see-now-buy-now consumer fashion show on the road come February.The designer will stage his women’s spring 2017 fashion show in Los Angeles on Feb. 8 at 5 p.m. PT. There will be no New York runway show.
The West Coast runway event is a continuation of the brand’s commitment to innovation and the democratization of the runway. In September, Hilfiger created the “Tommy Pier” for its fall 2016 show at South Street Seaport in New York, and opened the pier to consumers the following day for carnival activities and rides.
This will be Hilfiger’s second in-season, immediately shoppable fashion show and will present looks from the spring 2017 Hilfiger Collection and the Tommy x Gigi collaborative capsule, the second collection designed together with model Gigi Hadid. The company reported significant success with the “TommyNow” show, selling out of several styles overnight.
During Hilfiger’s September showing of Tommy x Gigi, the brand experienced high-double-digit growth in retail and e-commerce performance versus the same period last year. There was a 900 percent increase in traffic to tommy.com overall in the 48 hours following the show — more than 70 percent of visitors during this time were new to tommy.com.
The spring 2017 show will take place in Venice Beach in Los Angeles, and will reflect the California beach lifestyle that inspires the Tommy x Gigi collection. More than 3,000 press, buyers, industry influencers and consumers are expected to attend an ocean-side runway show along the beach.
“TommyNow is about inclusivity, fusing fashion and entertainment, celebrating pop culture, and connecting our global consumers to inspiring, unexpected fashion experiences,” Hilfiger said. “The casual, cool, chic look that is leading the fashion world this season was born and bred in L.A., and I knew this show would feel at home on Venice Beach.”
He said the spring collections were designed with a West Coast spirit, and “Gigi and I have loved fusing elements of her California lifestyle and a music festival atmosphere in the second Tommy x Gigi collection.”
Hilfiger’s women’s show occurs on the eve of New York Fashion Week, which takes place Feb. 9 through Feb. 16 in Manhattan. The brand is owned by PVH Corp.
All looks from Hilfiger’s see-now-buy-now show will be immediately available to purchase across all sales channels in more than 60 countries, including the brand’s wholesale partners and own retail channels, tommy.com, social media, shoppable live-stream and the TMY.GRL conversational commerce bot for Facebook Messenger.
As reported, consumers have been invited to have a role in the design process: the “[Heart] to be Part” co-creation initiative invited consumers to select and vote on their favorite Tommy x Gigi looks over social media, with the winning pieces being produced and sold on the runway this February.
Hilfiger’s decision to switch his show to L.A. in February represents further upheaval in the New York fashion calendar and additional evidence of the growing importance of the L.A. vibe to fashion. Tom Ford showed in L.A. in February 2015 around the Academy Awards, while Hedi Slimane transferred creative operations of Saint Laurent to the West Coast city when he was the French fashion house’s creative director.
As for New York, Hilfiger will depart temporarily even as its sister PVH brand Calvin Klein makes a return with the first show under new creative director Raf Simons. As reported, Simons will show both men’s and women’s collections on the Calvin runway on Feb. 10 during New York Fashion Week.
