Iconic America

What is America? It’s Monopoly and Mickey Mouse, but also Sinatra and Fred Astaire. It’s the Declaration of Independence, but it’s also Barbie and Playboy, Winslow Homer and Rudi Gernreich’s topless bathing suit. This juxtaposition of images reflects America’s unique eclecticism, and the unprecedented influence that the images of America’s pop culture have had on the world. This book works as a great treasury of Americana, and as a mischievously enjoyable observation on all things truly American. Fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger and famous adman George Lois have crafted an enlightening book, searching American history to find over 350 people, symbols, and things of import. Their iconic and iconoclastic choices are entertainingly presented through surprising visual juxtapositions. Inspired by Tommy Hilfiger’s passion for Americana and George Lois’ wit, Iconic America dramatizes the national ethos, and makes us think about who we are and what we stand for, with humor and charm.

Since launching his menswear collection in 1985, Tommy Hilfiger has become one of the most popular designers in America. Today, his collections include an entire range of apparel and products. This is his third book. George Lois is an art director renowned for daring advertising campaigns. In the 1960s, he conceived some of Esquire’s most famous covers. Lois is in the Art Director’s Hall of Fame, the Copywriters Hall of Fame, has received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the American Institute of Graphic Arts, the Society of Publication Designers, and has been a subject of the Master Series at the School of Visual Arts.