Tommy Hilfiger is the true main character of F1: The Movie
While everyone was talking about Brad Pitt, Tommy Hilfiger quietly conquered the paddock — and our wardrobes. Plus, my honest take on the film itself.
I can't recall a fictional sports film that generated as much hype and promotional activity as F1: The Movie has recently. Since the announcement of filming and casting — with Lewis Hamilton as producer — fans have experienced the complete rollout, from teasers through to premiere and finally, popcorn time. For me, that moment arrived during my long-awaited first holiday of the year in Sicily (apologies for taking some time off posting)
But here I am — it's been a long week — and here's what I thought about F1: The Movie, along with a closer look at one standout winner from the entire project: Tommy Hilfiger. Because here, fashion is never overlooked.
As a devoted fan, I didn't harbour high expectations regarding realism. Let's face it: if you want to see Formula 1, you can watch it every Sunday or, if you're fortunate enough, visit the circuit and experience it firsthand. This film was designed primarily to attract even more people and new audiences to the sport whilst needing to tell a story. So I was content with cringing slightly as a fan during certain scenes (imagine how an astronaut feels watching Interstellar)
First, if you haven't seen it yet, I do speak about things that might contain spoilers.
The storyline was overall decent, though nothing groundbreaking, rather predictable. The cast (hola Javier Bardem) elevated it; otherwise, it might have been less engaging. I genuinely appreciated Lewis's influence in some choices, particularly the inclusion of Black people — not only the main driver but throughout the team. That felt important.
I was equally surprised for the same reason, though, to see how women were once again diminished. You put a woman in a senior role, and once again we're portrayed as willing to throw it all away for a one-night stand? Come on. Even the female mechanic was immediately made to appear fragile and shy, requiring emotional support from the drivers or male counterparts. This aspect really frustrated me — it felt completely unnecessary to the narrative and simply highlighted how difficult it still is for us to be taken seriously in motorsport (or any sport)
But let's discuss what worked. The cinematography was stunning. The shots during racing sequences were incredible, and in this case, I believe they came as close as possible to portraying real racing. The film, an Apple Original directed by Joseph Kosinski (who also directed Top Gun Maverick), was filmed using a custom camera system developed by Apple, incorporating elements from the iPhone 15 Pro camera. You could tell significant work was done on actual tracks and during real races (I even spotted them filming during Monza 2023) to capture that sensation on screen. And I think that was the film's strength.
Initially, I said it was mainly made for newcomers, but they also knew how to keep loyal fans engaged. How? Through that clever game of blending fiction and non-fiction. Using real elements — like adhering to the F1 calendar and featuring cameos from actual drivers and team principals — made it not just more credible but also deeply relatable for those of us who already know these characters inside and out. And this is the strategy Tommy Hilfiger tapped into from the beginning, becoming the brand that made the most of the project.
A Met Gala arrival like no other
I believe it's incredibly difficult to surprise nowadays, yet Tommy managed to do it in a landscape that is challenging per se, because everyone is trying to bring the best fashion, to be extraordinary. But for the American brand it was the perfect opportunity to bring Damson Idris in a Formula 1 car, in one of the most Hollywood-style entrances the Gala has ever seen. Again, they managed to play with the fictional-non-fictional because we couldn't tell if there was Damson or Joshua Pearce; it could've been perfectly a moment taken from the film itself. The scene continued with Idris in a Formula 1 suit and a red, white, and blue Swarovski-crystal-embellished helmet that was peeled away by two assistants, revealing a custom flare tuxedo underneath.
That red tuxedo, by the way, was one of my favourite and best outfits of the night. Under the theme "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style," the fit of the jacket in dual pattern, the flared trousers giving a nod to the '80s, the pointed red boots and the gloves just made Damson the perfect dandy.
See what Tommy did here? They managed to position the brand as high fashion and demonstrate that although they don't do couture, they know how to bring quality and compete with big names like Prada and Thom Browne that night. They're putting the Tommy name at the centre of the F1 film and associating it with the Joshua Pearce character (which would be fundamental for the capsule collection) whilst being the brand that positions themselves as a motorsport brand, maintaining fashion at the centre, in the movie and in real life.
The APX GP Capsule Collection
I've discussed the concept that I called "Quiet motorsport fashion" for quite some time now. It seems so strange to me that brands out there haven't grasped yet that people (including myself) are desperate, not only for good merchandise, but for fashionable pieces with cool fits and fewer logos. Something you can actually wear without resembling a walking Times Square. And still we've seen very few collections that are aiming to satisfy fan expectations (Puma is getting there with their lifestyle merchandise, Tyler the Creator managed to deliver an excellent capsule for Vegas with Lewis Hamilton, and Ferrari Style is the perfect example of what I mean — fashion with a motorsport DNA through materials, colours and shapes, but it's pret- à-porter so not accessible to most F1 fans)
The example demonstrates that the demographic shift with women being a fundamental part of the fanbase moves quicker than the brands' strategic plans. Not Tommy Hilfiger though. Once again they're trying their best to position as the fashion brand in F1, making some interesting moves that are generating much more awareness around the sport than, for example, Louis Vuitton. One of these moves is the APX GP Exclusive Capsule collection, something that is very much unreplicable.
The capsule includes varsity jackets, polos, button-down shirts, tees, and hats that blend motorsport aesthetics with classic American style. It's a street-ready collection that reimagines team apparel through the Tommy lens, and there are multiple takeaways of why this is the fashion move of the year so far:
They put something you see on the big screen, ready for you to buy in real life — a masterclass of product placement that normally goes from real to fictional and that in this case they managed to do in the opposite way, creating even more appeal.
Choosing Damson Idris as the ambassador instead of Brad Pitt. This goes for the younger rookie in the film, more charismatic, relatable to the target audience and less controversial than Pitt.
It's a menswear collection, but designed as unisex, wearable with a more feminine style too. In fact, the marketing and PR has been much more focused on targeting women.
It's wearable. And I can prove it since Tommy Hilfiger kindly reached out and decided to send me two pieces from the collection: the red padded jacket (which is also reversible) and the short-sleeved black t-shirt. Both are very high quality and very fashionable pieces that speak Formula 1 without being (real) team merchandise.
It serves as a preview of what Tommy perhaps intends to bring when in 2026 they will be the official apparel partner and lifestyle sponsor for the Cadillac Formula 1 team, branding on the team's race cars, driver suits, and helmets whilst creating, of course, the official team merchandise and apparel collections.
I've said multiple times that fashion brands need to go out there and play, try things, experiment... and Tommy Hilfiger is definitely getting to the point.
See you next week!
Alba
Tommy Hilfiger is really nailing that female F1 audience. Not only was this move genius, but they’ve also sponsored F1A for years and are really getting their name out there with Alba Larsen making waves in their car.
Two main thoughts:
1. Regarding the movie, perhaps the most disappointing part about the woman engineer portrayal is why Lewis allowed it while interjecting about other parts of the project. He has been an advocate for women in motorsport for a long time and shown his continous support for F1A. However, it fell short to see him produce a movie that deliberately chooses to diminish the role of women in the motorsport space. Even rising a simple critique would have been enough.
2. This brings me to my second point. I love Tommy for being able to cater more to the F1 fanbase while at the same time keeping it cool enough for anyone not following the sport to purchase apparel. However, I would say it's still a bit far from tailoring and anchoring on women's perspective and voice as an audience. I don't know what it will take for these brands to realise that women make up the majority of the newer fans and they have the majority of the purchasing power and marketing power. They talk about it online, they speak about the drivers, the narratives, the details as much as about the sport and its technicalities. They are such a strong audience yet brands are so reluctant to cater to them. Which I think will be the downfall because male dominated sports will not be able to sustain the momentum of newer women fan interes.