THE MUSE BEHIND TOMMY HILFIGER'S STREETWEAR SUCCESS

Many of us know Tommy Hilfiger and even own something from the brand. It’s a very prominent brand amongst streetwear culture and has cultivated itself through mainstream and in the black community.

Recently in an interview with Hypebeast, Hilfiger credited himself for inventing the billion dollar streetwear industry, Hilfiger was quoted stating “I think I was the first designer to ever do street wear”. In addition, Hilfiger also credited himself for being the first designer to hire heavily popular and talented Black people to endorse and model for the brand. However, with the success of a billion dollar company there is always someone that is overlooked for their hard work and talent. For one, Kidada Jones, the daughter of Quincy Jones, the 90s it girl, a muse, stylist, and most heavily underrated woman behind the “Black Cool'' revolution that stirred the fashion industry.

To me Kidada Jones is one of the most influential Black women that has come out of the fashion industry. When I think about her I don’t think about her just being the legendary Quincy Jones daughter, no, I think of her undying influence of street wear culture and the billion dollar brand that is Tommy Hilfiger and how she made the brand cool within the realm of Balck culture and streetwear culture. Kidada has cultivated many fashion moments and it feels unjust just how much of her work is not highlighted enough.

If you are unfamiliar with Kidada Jones, she is a stylist, fashion designer, muse, author, actress, and a long time muse for Tommy Hilfiger. Kidada attended the Los Angeles Fashion Institute for design and merchandising, however at the age of 19 she left to work for Tommy Hilfiger. She modeled for some time and was even a decade-long muse for the Tommy Hilfiger brand as she appeared in many campaigns. While working in the publicity depar for Tommy Hilfiger she became really good friends with Tommy’s brother Andy and together they pitched Tommy the concept of a streetwear line which resulted in Tommy Jeans. Kidada was chosen to be the face of the new brand and appeared in four ad campaigns that are still circulating on the internet today and are on many mood boards cultivated from 90s nostalgia. Kidada’s work for Tommy Hilfiger is one of those undermined things. In the 90s Kidada was the IT Girl and her effortless but cool style showed through the countless Tommy Hilfiger 90s shoots she styled for his now defunct brand Tommy. It is due to Kidada that we know of Tommy Hilfiger as the brand that is associated with the streetwear culture and its proximity to everything cool, youthful and black. Her cool, layback, chic style is fashion’s favorite look to interpret on the runway and in ad campaigns, yet Kidada is still overlooked and far removed from the loudness that is the fashion industry and celebrity culture.

When you look back at 90s Tommy Hilfiger campaigns and the Black celebrities that modeled and endorsed for the brand influenced fashion then and now. Kidada was the helping hand that recruited the prominent Back figures in music we know and love. From the likes of TLC, Destiny’s Child, Aaliyah, Usher, Mary J Blige, Snoop Dog, and even Michael Jackson. With the recruitment of these prominent Balck figures in music, Tommy Hilfiger the brand was able to forge their way into streetwear culture and what it meant to be cool. In this particular sense, with the endorsement of these prominent Back figures in music it showed “Black Cool'' and the proximity to blackness made the brand skyrocket to even more success within the streetwear culture. The iconic ad campaign that involved the beautifully talented Aaliyah sporting Tommy jeans in a 1996 ad campaign was all the craze needed for the brand and Kidadas influence. Black femininity is cool and Kidada showed that countless times during her time styling and being a muse for Tommy Hilfiger. With the heavy influence of hip hop and Black culture, Kidada was able to take that inspiration and translate it through Tommy Hilfiger and push this into American popular culture as we know it today. With the influence of Balck culture and Balck people Kidada was able to capture that coolness and intricate style and translate it with swag and pride. As a stylist for Vibe Magazine, (Balck Americans capsule of cool). It was Kidada that styled thee Michael Jackson in Tommy Hilfiger on their 1995 cover that not only brought her to mainstream but Tommy Hilfiger. Jackson’s style as we all know is very intricate and precise with everything tailored and streamlined. However, for Vibe magazine, Kidada put Jackson in baggy clothes that were only seen on the coolest kids who lived in predominantly black neighborhoods or stereotypically known as the “ghetto”. Kidada did this without any constraint nor did she stifle Jackson’s superficial commercialism that was his branding. Instead it shed light on Blackness and gave way to exclusive success for the brand Tommy Hilfiger. During this time when a Balck woman held the power and influence of the creative styling team, there was no denying the success that was at the hands of Kidada Jones and her eye for coolness that essentially brought Tommy Hilfiger to success within the world of streetwear culture.

Black influence is undeniably dominant within popular culture and it's unjustly common that Balck people are absent in its celebrations of cool. It’s almost normal to scroll through platforms like Instagram or Pinterest and see whiteness omnipresent throughout. Black culture is unmistakably cool and the blueprint for many trends but Balck culture inspiration is unmistakably absent and ignored. In this day and age it’s common to see Balck culture and its coolness be diluted to the point that it is a cultural caricature and all that’s left is a poor attempt at trying to fit in or be a part of something that was meant for you. It devoids the expression of what it means to be Balck and take pride in your blackness and culture.

Kidada Jones has given the fashion industry its share of inspiration through the lense of Balck culture and the proximity to Balck people. Kidada cultivated new waves for blackness and as we know it the world around us is taking what was cultivated out of blackness and diluting it. However, gaining the attention of those who did not know of the woman behind the success of Tommy Hilfiger’s rise in the street wear culture.

In the present, Kidada works as a jeweler and fashion designer for Walt Disney Company, where she designs Disney couture pieces.Kidada Jones is a prominent figure that will not go unnoticed nor undermined for her talent and influence.

Black is cool, Blackness is forever.