Tommy Hilfiger: How Kendall & Kylie Jenner Changed The Way I Cast Models

Tommy Hilfiger opened up on the HollywoodLife podcast about how influential working with Kendall and Kylie Jenner was for the designer, all while sharing some secrets from his memoir, ‘American Dreamer’ — listen here!

Tommy Hilfiger stopped by the HollywoodLife.com podcast where he opened up about his memoir, American Dreamer, and how casting Kendall and Kylie Jenner changed the way he thought about casting future projects. “We had Kendall and Kylie [Jenner] at the Race to Erase MS event in LA like 5 years ago. This is when they were still in the early years of high school but thinking about modeling. We knew the family. Kris Jenner is a very good friend. She’s very, very smart. I think everyone admires her. We put the girls on the runway, people loved them. So when Kendall came to NY to model for Fashion Week, we were the first to put her on the runway and she was a superstar with Georgia Jagger, Elizabeth Jagger. This was when we first started realizing we need a range of models. I want social media stars, Hollywood stars, music stars, not just models. It makes it much more interesting and exciting.”

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The talented designer is always ahead of the trend and he recognizes how models today have their own personal brands. “They are brands unto themselves. They are no longer just beautiful models who have a finite career, they have the opportunity to have a career forever,” he said.

Tommy Launches The TommyXGigi Collection At New York Fashion Week

Tommy’s memoir, American Dreamer came out today, Nov. 2 — and he said you can expect a very honest account of his life. “I had a lot of ups and downs over the years. I started a business when I was a teenager. I had a bankruptcy. I opened a jean shop and it was successful, so I decided not to go to college, and I opened additional jean shops on college campuses in upstate NY. But I didn’t know what I was doing from a business aspect. I unfortunately went bankrupt when I was in my early 20s. That was my “MBA”. I taught myself how to understand the business part of the business. So when I started Tommy Hilfiger, I was very cautious as to how to structure the business in a professional sense,” he said.

Be sure to get your own copy to hear Tommy open up about his successful career and listen for more from the podcast!