American Dreamer: My Life in Fashion & Business [Hardcover]

USTommy Hilfigeris known for classic, all-American style that melds pop culture and the preppy East Coast lifestyle. Raised in Elmira, New York, the second of nine children, he opened a clothing store with $150 in 1969 while still in high school. Hilfiger launched his namesake fashion label in 1985, and the brand quickly expanded to include womenswear, Hilfiger Denim, kidswear, accessories, fragrance, and homeware. In the 1990s, he was one of the first designers to blend fashion and celebrity, sponsoring tours for rock legends such as the Rolling Stones and featuring musicians such as Lenny Kravitz, David Bowie, and Beyoncé in his iconic advertising campaigns. In 2012, the Council of Fashion Designers of America honored him with the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award. Hilfiger is based in New York City and Greenwich, Connecticut, and has five children and two stepchildren with his wife, Dee.
 
Peter Knoblerhas collaborated on several bestsellers, including Sumner Redstone’sA Passion to Winand Mary Matalin and James Carville’sAll’s Fair. He has written books with NYPD commissioner Bill Bratton, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, New York City mayor David Dinkins, and Texas governor Ann Richards, among others. Knobler is the former editor in chief ofCrawdaddy,“the first magazine to take rock music seriously” (The New York Times). He lives in New York City.CHAPTER ONE

Imagine

I was always planning my escape. Mostly I dreamed. I took myself out of where I was and put myself somewhere else. How could I sneak out of school that afternoon? Where was I going that weekend? Where was the party? I dreamed of cars, sports, girls; of making money, enjoying life, being a rock star. I saw myself on a boat in the Bahamas and felt the wind in my face, heard the sails flap as we came about, looked up the mast into the white clouds and blue sky. I was there.

I had eight brothers andlă*