The Tommy Hilfiger logo has been tweaked a couple of times but basically it has remained the same. The logo reflects the brand’s nautical spirit as well as its American roots.
Tommy Hilfiger made his first steps in fashion in 1968, but the namesake brand was established only in 1985. The corporation went public in 1992. Now, the apparel and accessories made by this brand are sold in almost 100 countries.
If you by any coincidence are familiar with the International Code of Signals, then you might recognize the emblem used by Tommy Hilfiger (at least, its central part). The combination of the white and red fields stands for the letter “H” (“Hotel”) in the list of International maritime signal flags. Its direct meaning is “I have a pilot on board.”
Of course, when Tommy Hilfiger borrowed the flag, he was not interested in its direct meaning: he just opted for the “H” character because it was his initial. So, in this case, “H” standed for “Hilfiger”.
The emblem reflects the core values of the brand. From the very start, Tommy Hilfiger imagined his marque as nautical and preppy-inspired. Also, the choice of the color palette emphasizes the brand’s American spirit.
At first glance, the original Tommy Hilfiger logo featured almost the same typeface as the current one. However, if you take a closer look, you will notice that the previous version had a slightly wider type. The reason for this was absolutely practical: the wordmark had to fit within the brand’s flag.
The color scheme was borrowed from the US flag. In this way, the designer wanted to put an emphasis on the brand’s American heritage. The palette itself has remained consistent ever since it was introduced in 1985. The only notable change referring to the colors was that the first version of the logo featured white letters, while in the current version the letters are blue.