Tommy Hilfiger has never needed a tent to make a point about New York. On Thursday, September 10, the first official day of New York Fashion Week, the designer presented his spring 2027 collection inside Manhattan’s Plaza Hotel, a landmark that doubles as a piece of his own biography: according to parent company PVH, Hilfiger and his wife, Dee, lived for more than a decade in a duplex penthouse there overlooking Central Park.
The choice follows a house habit of borrowing the city’s most recognizable spaces. PVH notes that earlier Hilfiger shows in New York took over Grand Central Terminal’s Oyster Bar and the MV John F. Kennedy, a retired Staten Island Ferry. This time the runway wound through the Palm Court and the Terrace Room, with the Matt Jones Orchestra providing the soundtrack.
Prep, re-proportioned
The brand framed the season around a phrase, “Prep Made Current,” and the clothes followed the brief closely. Daily Front Row described color-blocked rugby dresses, Ithaca-stripe Oxford shirts and tartan blazers, polos cut both shrunken and oversized, and chinos reworked into high-cut shorts. The signature red, white and blue was refreshed with vivid yellows and greens, and the Tommy flag appeared faded and washed on suede and silk-cashmere. Reuters, in its report, noted oversized polos, plaid bucket hats and flowing silk dresses.
“Here we are with a new look — but still Tommy Hilfiger. We wanted to show the youth that we were able to take our classics and rework them and reintroduce them.” — Tommy Hilfiger, speaking to Reuters
That ambition is legible in the casting. Gigi Hadid opened the show in loose red trousers, a tan jacket and a navy bucket hat, while Romeo Beckham closed it and the singer Slayyyter performed for the finale.
A front row built for reach
The audience mixed fashion, music and sport in a way that suits a label with global scale. Reuters reported that Kate Moss, Camila Cabello, Jisoo, Patrick Schwarzenegger and NBA players Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart were among those in the room; Daily Front Row added Carmelo Anthony and actor Arón Piper to the roll call.
The occasion carried extra weight because of the designer’s own longevity. Hilfiger, 75, launched his brand in 1985, and it is now owned by PVH Corp. In the company’s announcement of the show, he explained the setting in his own words:
“I’ve long been inspired by American icons, and there are few places that embody that spirit more than The Plaza.” — Tommy Hilfiger
In show remarks quoted by Daily Front Row, he tied the collection back to the street: “For 40 years, I’ve been inspired by the style of New Yorkers—how the people of the city take the classics and make them their own.”
Why it matters this season
The Plaza show was one of roughly 70 runway shows and presentations on a New York calendar that ran through September 15. Staged in one of Manhattan’s best-known hotels, the homecoming reads as a statement of confidence in New York as a place to be seen. Whether the “Prep Made Current” message lands with the younger customers Hilfiger is courting will be decided at retail next spring; as theater, the brand’s return to the city’s calendar was hard to miss.
See all sources
- Tommy Hilfiger Celebrates a New York Fashion Week Homecoming at The Plaza, PVH Corp., 2026-07-02
- Tommy Hilfiger takes over Plaza Hotel for his colorful return to NY Fashion Week (Reuters), Reuters via 92.7 The Van, 2026-09-10
- Tommy Hilfiger Takes Over Plaza Hotel for His Colorful Return to NY Fashion Week, Asharq Al-Awsat (Reuters), 2026-09-11
- Tommy Hilfiger Returns to the Plaza for Spring 2027, Daily Front Row, 2026-09-11
