Tommy Hilfiger presented his spring/summer 2025 collection on the unusual location of a decommissioned Staten Island ferry.
For his latest New York Fashion Week show, the American designer paid homage to the nautical lifestyle that has inspired the brand for almost 40 years. He took guests to the John F. Kennedy boat, which served as a Staten Island Ferry until decommissioned in 2021.
Pete Davidson and Colin Jost, both New York natives, bought it the following year with other investors.
Hilfiger’s love letter to the East Coast of America extended to the Empire State Building, lit up in the label’s colors.
The show’s invitation was a Tommy-fied version of a brass Staten Island Ferry token, a remnant of New York history.
The New York-born designer unveiled his second collection since returning to the NYFW schedule with a further refined luxury aesthetic. The pieces were classically Tommy: navy captain’s blazers and trench coats, cricket sweaters and cable-knit V-necks, pleated prim dresses, and capri pants.
The nautical theme ran throughout, with anchor motifs and Breton stripes aplenty.
“It’s the New American Prep wardrobe, fusing vibrant Ivy League style with everyday coastal functionality,” the label said in a statement.
Hilfiger wanted to “live within our brand codes: Stripes, red, white, and blue, nautical and collegiate preppy.”
Modern silhouettes, crinkled cotton, and fabrics encompassing sportswear’s fluidity energized the signature looks.
“Today, it’s updated and remixed for 2025,” said Hilfiger. “The look has the ease of effortless summer style, but with a confidence that feels ready to step off the ferry and back into the city.”
The collection featured classic Breton and Ithaca shirting stripes, regatta jackets, and utility trousers made from sail-cloth nylons.
Celebrities in the front row included Gen V actor Patrick Schwarzenegger, 30, who recently became the brand’s face. In a herringbone tweed suit jacket and nautical-striped shirt,
Schwarzenegger embodied the brand’s quintessentially preppy aesthetic.
Schwarzenegger was accompanied by Blackpink’s Jisoo, 29, who noted Hilfiger’s hip-hop influence of the Nineties in a leather baseball jacket and beanie.
Others in attendance included actor Brooke Shields, who watched her daughter, Grier, on her first Fashion Week runway.
“I got very emotional,” Shields said. “It was her first show and this is something she wanted to do. And I said, ‘You’ve got to go to college, but it’s a Sunday, so it’s OK.’”
Sports stars were out in force – including Olympic gold medal-winning sprinter Gabby Thomas, who wore a herringbone double-breasted blazer over a white mini dress, and gymnast Sunisa Lee in a classic belted trench coat.
Romee Strijd, Noah Beck, Tinashe, and Wu-Tang Clan members enjoyed a surprise performance at the event.
Tommy Hilfiger demonstrated that the brand is as much part of the city’s iconography as the ship that hosted it. It is a true American classic.
