NEW YORK, Aug 28, 2001/ --- Tommy Hilfiger brought a bit of runway excitement to the heart of the Midwest Thursday evening. Hilfiger even brought runway stars Maggie Rizer and Jason Shaw to help promote his latest collection in St. Louis, Missouri.

"America is my heritage and Americans are my inspiration," Hilfiger told FWD. "Although the brand has gone global, I never forget that it all started here ... It is important to me to come and see the American people who support and inspire me. I take that inspiration back into the collection."

Compared to the extravaganzas that he puts together in New York, the St. Louis production was moderate and relatively low key. However, it did encompass all aspects of the Hilfiger red, white and blue label. Women's wear, men's wear, sleepwear, kid's wear, swimwear and underwear were all presented. The show indicated that Hilfiger, with the help of his sister Ginny, is taking his $2 billion apparel firm back to its more classic roots, and away from the trendier duds he was criticized for in the recent past.

Hilfiger was also promoting his new men's fragrance, T, the most recent of his growing line of fragrances which are a division of Estee Lauder's Aramis unit.

The models represented Hilfiger's wide fan base, ranging from hip-hoppers to wasps, suburbanites to city dwellers. The younger set - America's future supermodels, if you will - summed up the experience of walking for Mr. T quite nicely: "It was sooooooooooo much fun!"