Dee Ocleppo Hilfiger is headed home for the holidays.
The accessories designer, entrepreneur and wife of Tommy Hilfiger, is launching a home decor collection for holiday, exclusively on QVC and QVC.com.
Called Mrs. H, the debut collection encompasses key pieces inspired by the couple’s former Greenwich, Conn., home and features a mix of luxurious and cozy fabrics, combined with tartan plaids, stag head accents, ornate dining sets, and a specialty home fragrance.
Mrs. H will launch on QVC and QVC.com on Nov. 26. It will be followed by spring/summer drops in March and May focused on Hilfiger’s other homes in Palm Beach, Fla., and Mustique, a private island in the Caribbean.
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The Hilfigers, who have a passion for decorating homes, have frequently had their residences featured in Architectural Digest, among other publications.
“I’m really excited. It’s been so nice to work with them [QVC]. They are real pros at what they do,” said Hilfiger, in a telephone interview. Her first collection includes several gift items such as blankets and pillows. “It’s all based on the Greenwich house that we used to have, and that I wish we still had,” she said.
“I loved that house. We had these huge stags outside the front entrance. We had a lot of carved wood and fireplaces roaring at all times during the year. It was very, very cozy, so the inspiration was really cozy. We have plaid and velvet pillows, we have Faux Bois candle sticks in a gold and pewter finish, blankets and plates, and we’re launching scented candles that Harry Slatkin manufactured,” she continued.
Asked if the items were more reflective of Tommy’s or her own aesthetic, she said, “It’s my aesthetic. I was very specific on what I wanted and what I liked because it’s the easiest way to go on air and talk about something. It’s really what I love and what I would want for my home. They executed it beautifully,” she said. Harry Slatkin manufactured the scented candles, but the rest of the items were manufactured in-house by the QVC team.
Prices range from $14.99 to $119.
This is the first time that Hilfiger has designed home decor. In May, she will have plates, glasses, chargers, “all beautiful things for the table, and accent pieces for the bedroom.” She’ll offer bedding and vases. “The thread throughout both collections is it’s a classic, elegant kind of aesthetic and can work in anyone’s home,” she said.
She said they did a lot of the work over Zoom and also went to QVC headquarters in West Chester, Pa., to see the samples. “The team is just incredible. They pretty much nailed it right out of the box,” she said. “It’s just been very pleasant and nice to work with them. They really understood my aesthetic and they really understand their woman and their audience really well,” said Hilfiger.
Hilfiger will make her QVC debut on the show, “Dennis Basso and Friends,” which airs Nov. 26 at 10 p.m. EST.
“Dee has been immersed in the business of fashion and design for decades, traveling the world and finding inspiration from various places and cultures,” said Kristen Stevens, vice president of home and general merchandise manager, QVC. “This collection beautifully combines Dee’s aesthetic with functional yet stylish decor. With inspiration from the cozy elegance of Dee’s homes in Greenwich to the Caribbean, our QVC customers can welcome every season by incorporating Mrs. H decor into their own spaces.”
This isn’t Hilfiger’s first time on a home shopping program. In 2011, she was on HSN, sister company to QVC, with her footwear and handbags. “But I’ve never done home and I feel very optimistic and excited about doing home because I’ve done so many homes with Tommy over the years. We actually have a book coming out next fall with Vendome with all our homes. I feel that home is something I can do with my eyes closed. It’s really authentic to me and my lifestyle and I’m really passionate about it,” said Hilfiger.
When it comes to her own decorating, Hilfiger said she’s opinionated and always very vocal. “Whenever we work with somebody, we take the lead on it. It’s very collaborative. We’re not the clients, who say, ‘just do it.’ We’re super collaborative. You know Tommy and know how persnickety he is. I’m just as bad,” she said.
She said she got the deal with QVC through her close friend Slatkin. “We were just talking one day, and he said, ‘Dee, I think you would be really great for QVC, I’d love to introduce and take you there. You could do beauty, you could do home, and we really decided to start with home,’” she said. “For me, it’s just natural and my passion.”
Eventually, the 58-year-old designer would love to do beauty and skin care, and health and wellness. She already has a fashion license with One Jeans “so there’s some conversation we can do that under DO by Dee Ocleppo. The sky’s the limit, one baby step at a time.”
Hilfiger launched the Dee Ocleppo business in 2011, which manufactures handbags and footwear under license. But, as reported Tuesday, those licenses are ending this season, and she is looking for new licensing partners. She is also the creative director of Judith Leiber.
Hilfiger said she’s looking forward to the on-air experience. “I think it is so much fun. I’ve even started shopping on QVC a lot more. It’s really fun and interesting to engage on air with the product and the consumer. I think it’s a completely different experience. Half the time you go into a retail store today and you can’t even find a salesperson to even ask a question. When you’re shopping online you have to scroll down to get specifics what the information is. This is a just much more fun way to shop. The information is given to you in a fun, engaging way. The idea is to have fun with it.”
Asked whom she considers her target customer, she said, “Anybody who wants to make their home beautiful. There are items that everyone loves. It’s blankets and candles. Who doesn’t need them in their home?”
Does she think it will make good Christmas gifts?
“In fact, that’s what I’m giving my friends. They’re getting Mrs. H this year,” she said.
