Tommy Hilfiger Launches Prep World: A Pop-up Beach House
Preps of the world, unite!
Tommy Hilfiger is celebrating all things nautical and khaki in the brand's new pop-up shop, Prep World.
The store, set in a traveling beach house, evokes Nantucket living, complete with a tennis racket chandelier and racks of navy blazers, colorful Top-Siders, and of course, madras print.
Yes, that's fresh grass out front—in Manhattan's Meatpacking District. Consider it an oasis in the concrete jungle that is New York City.
"We were talking about doing a pop-up shop and I didn't want to do [it] the normal way," Hilfiger tells FashionEtc. "So I said to one of my guys, 'Hey, wouldn't it be cool if we had some sort of beach house? Put everything in exactly the way you'd want to live in the summer?'"
Thus the pre-fab "beach shack" was born.
In honor of the preppy theme, Hilfiger joined forces with Lisa Birnbach, the woman behind The Official Preppy Handbook and the new tome True Prep: It's a Whole New Old World.
"She's the expert, and I've always loved the book because I thought it was funny," Hilfiger says. "So we got together and now we're collaborating; we're traveling around universities to speak to people."
Photo courtesy of Tommy Hilfiger
The Tommy Hilfiger pop-up beach house in Manhattan's Meatpacking District.
The traveling preppy beach shop features classic Hilfiger looks and limited-edition ephemera like magnets, dog leashes, backgammon games, croquet sets, and more. And there's a special iPhone app that allows users—once they're in the store—to overlay Tommy Hilfiger clothes on their photos and share them with friends. (And to superimpose the Hilfigers into their pics, dog included.)
If you're looking to add some summer brights to your wardrobe, you should hurry to the shop: It's open May 5–8 in New York City, and then travels around the world to Los Angeles, London, Madrid, Milan, and more.
Why the world tour? Because, as Hilfiger pointed out, prep style is a global phenomenon.
"It's no longer just American," he says. "It's in Japan and Germany and France and Holland. And it's slightly different from place to place. In Japan it's very, very funky. They have people walking down the streets with argyle socks and tartan sweaters. Mixing patterns."
We know where they can stock up.
The Prep World Pop-up house is open May 5–8 in New York City (One Little West 12th St.) and then heads to the U.K. Visit tommy.com/prep to find out when it lands in your city.
