Daddy Cool by Hadley Freeman

     The news article "Daddy Cool" by Hadley Freeman describes the business aspect of fashion. He explains Tommy Hilfiger's career in fashion, his designs, based on fluctuating ideas among society, and the finances of his business. The buisness began when Hilfiger was a young adult when he bought bell-bottom jeans from department stores and sold them to his friends to gain a profit. He opened a store in Manhattan called The People's Place where he sold all sorts of items, including non-clothing products, such as records. The store became more of a hang-out and went bankrupt when Hilfigers was twenty-five. Two years later, in 1986, he established a new company and began comparing himself to the most famous designers of that time including Perry Ellis. Hilfiger was able to get celebrities to appear wearing his clothing and by that time he was in the major league of fashion.
     Tommy Hilfiger's brand, in 2006, was sold to London-based Apax Partners for just over one and a half billion dollars and for three billion dollars to Phillips-Van Heusen in 2010.
     Hilfiger says "I looked at the rap community like street kids wanting their own brand. But now I look at that period with the rappers in the 90's as a trend of the moment. What it taught me was never to follow a trend, because trends move on,". He realized that altering his style to fit with what is in style among society was difficult and not always best.  Trends are hard to keep up with and not everyone will always have the same idea of what is in style. He returned to his "preppy" style and found that he was more comfortable and more successful.

 What has Tommy Hilfiger's experiences as a young designer said about societies reaction to fashion?

Freeman, Hadley. "Daddy Cool." The Guardian. 05 Feb 2011: 33. SIRS Renaissance. Web. 26 Feb 2012.