WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — World-renowned fashion designers Tommy Hilfiger and his wife Dee Ocleppo Hilfiger will be honored Friday in West Palm Beach.
The power couple will receive the Style Icon award from Dress for Success Palm Beaches at a Friday luncheon at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach.
WPTV anchor Shannon Cake had a chance to sit down and talk with the couple Thursday.
Despite their tremendous success, they continue to stay humble.
"You never forget where you came from," Tommy Hilfiger said.
Dress for Success is a charity that offers a helping hand to women as they make their way into the workforce.
"It's a great cause, and we're very proud and honored to lend our name and be a part of it," Dee Ocleppo Hilfiger said.
"For us, it's very simple to donate clothes and have them ... actually help people," Tommy Hilfiger said. "If some of our clothes can help people do well in an interview and actually land a job, that to us is fantastic."
"This has been on our radar for a very long time," Dee Ocleppo Hilfiger said. "We've actually gone to some events in New York, and we're really proud to be a part of it."
The couple moved their bustling family from Miami to Palm Beach three years ago.
"How are you loving Palm Beach County?" Cake asked the couple.
"We both love it," Tommy Hilfiger said.
"It's been great," Dee Ocleppo Hilfiger said. "We love Palm Beach. We're finally in our home. We've been in our home for a year now."
She said the people in the area are wonderful and philanthropic.
"It's a beautiful place to live," Dee Ocleppo Hilfiger said. "We're very lucky."
Tommy Hilfiger said he loves the lifestyle on the island "because it's sporty and active."
The designer said the sunshine, palm trees and salt water is "really inspiring."
"You feel like you're on vacation," Tommy Hilfiger said.
While the Hilfiger family now calls Palm Beach home, their name continues to be one of the biggest brands on the planet.
Tommy Hilfiger came from a simple beginning, learning the value of a dollar as a boy pumping gas.
"We don't take the success for granted at all. It is a lot of hard work, a lot of luck," Tommy Hilfiger said. "Many people have helped us along the way, and we'd like to be there to mentor and help others do well."
He used money that saved as a child to start his fashion career, opening his first store called "People’s Place" in 1969.
Hilfiger is known around the globe for his stylish classics with a modern twist.
His wife has her own luxury brand of sophisticated handbags and shoes and an apparel line coming this fall.
She admits it all makes for a busy schedule, but the South Florida lifestyle makes it easier to manage.
"We drive Sebastian, our son, to school in the morning," Dee Ocleppo Hilfiger said. "The sun is rising over the water driving along the ocean."
She called it a "pinch me" moment.
"You're like, 'Wow this is really great," Dee Ocleppo Hilfiger said.
"So, what is next?" Cake asked.
"We don't know yet," Tommy Hilfiger said.
"That's part of the adventure," Cake said.
"Just keep going," Dee Ocleppo Hilfiger said.
