Nationality: American Thomas Jacob Hilfiger is an American fashion designer and the founder of Tommy Hilfiger Corporation. After starting his career by co-founding a chain of jeans/fashion stores called People's Place in upstate New York in the 1970s, he began designing preppy clothing for his own eponymous menswear line in the 1980s. The company later expanded into women's clothing and various luxury items such as perfumes and went public in 1992. Hilfiger's collections are often influenced by the fashion of music subcultures and marketed in connection with the music industry, with celebrities such as American R&B artist Aaliyah in the 1990s. In 2005, contestants in the CBS reality show The Cut competed for a design job with Hilfiger in a similar fashion to The Apprentice. In 2006, Hilfiger sold his company for $1.6 billion to Apax Partners, who next sold it in 2010 to Phillips-Van Heusen for $3 billion. He remains the company's principal designer, leading the design teams and overseeing the entire creative process. Awards: 1995: Council of Fashion Designers of America – Menswear Designer of the Year. 1996: American Academy of Achievement – Golden Plate Award. 1997: FiFi Awards – Men's Fragrance of the Year – Luxe, for the fragrance "Tommy". 1998: Parsons School of Design – Designer of the Year Award. 1998: GQ Magazine – Designer of the Year for 'Men of the Year' issue. 2000: FiFi Awards – Best Marketing Innovation of the Year, for Toiletries for Tommy's (American running series). 2002: GQ Germany – International Designer of the Year. 2002: Drug Abuse Resistance Education – Future of America Award, for philanthropic efforts for American youth. 2006: GQ Spain – Designer of the Year. 2006: Harvard Foundation – Peter J. Gomes Humanitarian of the Year. 2006: We Are Family Foundation – Visionary Award. 2007: Hispanic Federation – Individual Achievement Award. 2008: Women's Wear Daily – No. 1 Designer and No. 16 Brand in annual "100 List". 2009: UNESCO – UNESCO Support Award, for philanthropic efforts. 2009: Marie Claire Magazine – Lifetime Achievement Award. 2010: Pratt Institute – Legends Award. 2012: Council of Fashion Designers of America – Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by Anna Wintour. 2015: Race To Erase MS – honored for commitment to finding a cure for MS.