Tommy with no rapping

You used to know where you stood with Tommy Hilfiger. You stood in a hood: an outsized hood with a bold capital H on the front and low-slung baggy jeans. Tommy Hilfiger was every hip hop lover's favourite homeboy until he was usurped by the bling-bling brashness of designer Sean "P Diddy" Coombs.

Hilfiger has long needed a different tack - and he has finally found one. Going back to his preppy roots, he unveiled his new H Hilfiger collection for next spring, concentrating on an aesthetic as far removed from hip hop and baggy hoodies as is possible.

Like modern Jay Gatsbys, male models wore crisp white trousers, stripy shirts, cravats and dapper double-breasted blazers with a handkerchief in the breast pocket.

The women were in nautically-themed skirts decorated with a rope motif and stripy Breton tops. This was a collection for the girl who holidays on boats moored in Capri and St Tropez, and so there were enough towelling bikinis, palazzo pants and sarongs to sink a battleship, never mind a small yacht. Navy and white were the predominant colours, accented with tangerine, turquoise and red.

It was all perfectly pleasant, but this whitebread vision of the perfect American life has already been done to death, and done better by designers such as Michael Kors and Ralph Lauren. But it was a vastly improved collection and is sure to find favour with America's rich list.

There were plenty of celebrities to witness Hilfiger's new look. Jennifer Lopez, her exboyfriend P Diddy, Paris Hilton, rapper Lil Kim and Janet Jackson applauded.

While the new line might be restrained, the Hilfiger family themselves are anything but. Daughter Ally starred in the MTV series Rich Girls, while Tommy himself has just signed up to host a reality TV show called The Cut, which sets out to find America's "fashion trendsetter of tomorrow".

The Simon Cowell of the fashion world promises to be every bit as outspoken - although no doubt better dressed.