Fashion giant Tommy Hilfiger will jet into Galway today (Thursday ) to host a public signing session at his city shop.
The 57-year-old New Yorker, who grew up in an Irish family and claims direct descent from Scottish poet Robert Burns, will meet and greet fans at the Shop Street store from 12.30pm until 1.30pm. They will be given an exclusive limited edition tweed notebook as a gift for Mr Hilfiger to sign.
For Mr Hilfiger, who began working in retail at the age of 18 - he would go to New York city to buy jeans and bell-bottom pants which he customised and resold at a local downtown store - the two day tour is his first official visit to Ireland. It marks the grand opening of his new sportswear store in Dublin’s Grafton Street. After the Galway appearance he will travel to the capital to open this - his 12th store in the country and fourth in Dublin, with other stores in Galway, Limerick and Dundalk among others.
He will also visit Trinity College Dublin where he will be awarded an honorary patronage by the philosophical society at the college. This award is given to recognise important contributors to society and has been previously presented to Bono, Bob Geldof, and Al Pacino.
The designer - who founded the Tommy Hilfiger Corporation in 1984 and was named Menswear Designer of the Year by the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 1995 -says he is delighted by the success of his Irish stores and is looking forward to his visit.
“Following the success of my existing stores in Ireland, I am thrilled to be opening a new Sportswear store in Dublin. My visit honours the union of two nations that are not only rooted through history, but also through the connection of my ancestral family.”
With over 850 locations worldwide, Tommy Hilfiger currently has freestanding stores in London, New York, Paris, Milan, Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Barcelona, Stockholm, Vienna, Hong Kong, Buenos Aires, St. Tropez, Istanbul, Antwerp, Munich, Athens and Madrid.
With a premium lifestyle brand portfolio that includes Tommy Hilfiger and Hilfiger Denim, the Tommy Hilfiger group of companies is one of the world’s most recognised designer apparel groups.
The group’s focus is designing and marketing high-quality menswear, womenswear, children’s apparel and denim collections. Through select licensees, the group offers complementary lifestyle products such as accessories, fragrances and home furnishings.
The Tommy Hilfiger group merchandise is available to consumers worldwide through an extensive network of dedicated retail stores, leading specialisty and department stores and other carefully controlled distribution channels. For additional information about the Tommy Hilfiger group of companies log onto www.tommy.com
