Tommy Hilfiger

“We are going back to our roots by cultivating new unsigned talent who otherwise might go unnoticed.”

“I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to build some kind of lifestyle brand that was preppy and cool.”

“We like to believe our fashion is growing.”

“I've never tried to do couture, because it's a whole different beast.”

“If I see someone wearing Hilfiger it makes me proud, but then I wonder what I could do to make the style more relevant for them next year?”

“I was looking at people like Jim Morrison and David Bowie and Mick Jagger and I thought, Ah! I want to look like them.”

“I had no confidence at school. I was not a good student and I really thought I was pretty stupid. Just dumb.”

“We are really living the American dream, to be a successful brand in the States and in Europe and to steep ourselves in our heritage. But we do it with a sense of humor. We don't take ourselves too seriously in fashion.”

“I currently live in the Plaza in New York and I love it - all that history, all those interesting stories.”

“I think it is really important to have a sense of business. As a designer you can get so wrapped up in the design and fashion side that you forget the business side.”

“I thought, if I went into business I'd be able to control my own destiny.”

“But I think, if you're in the spotlight, people are going to say bad things, and that's just the way it is.”

“You want to look fashionable and put-together, not like you hit every sale rack this season.”

“I had eight brothers and sisters. Every Christmas my younger brother Bobby would wake up extra early and open everybody's presents - everybody's - so by the time the rest of us got up, all the gifts were shredded, ribbons off, torn open and thrown aside.”

“My passion for music has always inspired my designs.”

“I think it's dangerous to think that you're successful, because then you become complacent.”

“It was difficult for me because I was searching for the answer for so long, and the answer was right in front of me. Do what I do best.”

“In designing a lifestyle brand, you have to know more than just designing clothes.”

“My mother inspired me to treat others as I would want to be treated regardless of age, race or financial status.”

“The preppy lifestyle has gone global. We feel that our business has grown so well because preppy travels so well. It's all-American classic.”