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FOR A DECADE, American designer Tommy Hilfiger and his family lived at The Plaza Hotel, one of New York’s most stylish addresses. Hilfiger seems to be feeling nostalgic about the place he once called home, having shot his latest campaign featuring newlywed Travis Kelce and then hosting his Spring 2027 show in its Palm Court and Terrace Room during New York Fashion Week.

Hilfiger’s commitment to putting some prep in our step is truly to be admired. The designer has been at this for decades, refining it and updating silhouettes to meet the shifting aesthetics of fit in younger generations. Right now, the spectrum seems to be swinging back from oversized into relaxed (do we predict the return of the skinny cut? Never say never!) with tailoring and sporting details meshing seamlessly.

The front row pointed to where the clothes were headed. Knicks players Josh Hart, Karl-Anthony Towns and Miles McBride sat alongside Carmelo Anthony, a fitting crowd for a collection that could easily find its way into player’s tunnel walks.

Athletic culture has always played a big part in the Tommy Hilfiger universe, and this season the menswear leaned heavily into collegiate sporting codes. Rugby shirts came boxy and colour-blocked in red, navy, green and yellow, some with TOMMY spelt out across the chest, one worn over wide navy trousers with a canvas bag carried across the body. A quarter-zip was layered beneath a tailored blazer. Polos swung between shrunken and oversized proportions, finished with a micro embroidery of the Tommy crest and collars flipped up in a nod to the campus quad.

Tartan turned up on blazers and Ivy jackets, and Oxford shirting came in Ithaca stripes. The Tommy flag was faded and washed across superfine suede and silk-cashmere, and printed large on voluminous totes slung over the shoulder. Shorts came in chino and tartan, some with subtly twisted seams borrowed from denim, and were worn with black socks and penny loafers. Boat shoes, two-tone skate sneakers with a rounded ’90s shape and a leather pool slide covered the rest of the footwear.

Romeo Beckham closing the show in the final look was an inspired piece of casting. The son of David Beckham, he carries a football lineage that sits easily within a line of Hilfiger ambassadors, including Thierry Henry, Rafael Nadal and Lewis Hamilton, and he wore the clothes with a relaxed ease that took some of the starch out of the prep. He walked as Matt Jones and the Matt Jones Orchestra moved from the classics into a contemporary soundtrack.

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