Dee Ocleppo Hilfiger is an entrepreneur, designer, wife, mother, philanthropist, and advocate living in Palm Beach. A third culture kid, she grew up in the US with one parent being from Turkey and the other from England. She was a model and lived many years in Europe raising her kids, until she met fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger. Ultimately, she became a fashion designer herself. Firstly, as creative director of Judith Leiber, and later she founded her own namesake brand.

A kind person, she graciously sat down with me for a chat about the importance of women having their own independence, why she felt she had a sartorial story to tell in the oversaturated market of fashion, and she answers if she would have become a fashion designer if Tommy Hilfiger wasn’t her husband. There was a glitch in the recording so the very beginning of her answer to the first question was cut off, which was: “you’re a third culture kid. Do you have connection to your Turkish and British heritages? Do either inspire you as a designer?