Just a 10-hour flight from London lays a slice of tropical paradise. Exclusive to the rich, royalty (real and fashion) and Hollywood A-listers, the Caribbean island of Mustique has long been a sanctuary for those hoping to escape prying eyes. 

For Dee and Tommy Hilfiger, holiday heaven is much closer – just a three-hour journey from their Palm Beach abode in Florida. ‘We fly directly to St Vincent,’ explains Tommy over the phone while on vacation on the island with his wife. ‘And then it’s only a 10-minute flight.’ 

Technically part of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Mustique is a community in its own right. Taken over by Colin Tennant (uncle of the late model Stella Tennant) in the late ’50s, he soon turned the privately held island into an exclusive hideaway where the 1% could holiday in anonymity. 

Kate Moss celebrated her 50th birthday there earlier this year. Tom Ford only vacations here in absolute seclusion, Kate and William made it their honeymoon destination and Princess Margaret spent a great amount of time in her own villa on land that was gifted to her by Tennant. In short, what happens in Mustique stays in Mustique – and is the stuff of legend.

The Hilfigers are among the select few who can call one of the sea-abutting piles their own. Tommy first set foot on the island 35 years ago and began building the cavernous villa five years later, once he’d acquired a strip of land right by the beach. ‘A lot of the homes here are built in secluded spots. I don’t think there’s any land available any longer, but we like our place on the beach because it is rather private. I wouldn’t say the neighbours are exactly on top of us,’ he says. The neighbours in question? Mick Jagger and Bryan Adams. 

He eschewed the pre-existing decaying wooden house for a stately home in bright coral stone, ‘which will last forever in the sea and sand’, he says. But building in a tropical climate comes with its own set of challenges. Originally designed by Colefax and Fowler, the upkeep required some tweaking over the years. ‘It’s directly on the beach, so there’s sand and sea and we’re constantly having to change out faded fabrics and other bits as materials will rust or decay – it’s an ongoing maintenance situation,’ Dee explains. Quarrels over the right shade of wall paint can be a stumbling block for any couple, never mind two designers (Dee is creative director of Judith Leiber and Tommy still runs his billion-dollar namesake business) – do they ever disagree? ‘It’s very rare,’ says Tommy. Dee concurs. ‘I respect Tommy’s taste and I think he respects mine. We have lived together for so long now that we know what we both like and we sort of have the same taste really.’ 

The couple, who married in 2008, have practised their decorating skills on various properties, such as their Austin Powers-inspired Miami pad and a more traditional country estate in Connecticut. The one thing they’ll never settle for? Minimalism. 

The spacious, colourful Mustique villa is one of around 100 homes on the island and a suitable hideaway for their ever-growing family. Golf buggies are the only mode of transport on the island and paparazzi are no worry either. ‘There’s not even a stoplight, nor a McDonald’s,’ Tommy says. Not even a Tommy Hilfiger store? ‘No, not even big shopping malls with shiny new stores. [Instead], we like hiking, biking, tennis and we love beach picnics with the whole family.’

‘We’ve made a lot of special memories here,’ he continues, one of them being the wedding of Tommy’s daughter Ally, featuring a live acoustic session by the Rolling Stones’ guitarist Ronnie Wood. In fact, despite the sky-high property prices, weirdly, life on the island is rather low-key. ‘Tommy and I are in public most of the year and what I like is it gives me a break from that whole hair and make-up and outfit thing. I like to be with no make-up and in  a bathing suit,’ says Dee. What her husband describes as ‘barefoot elegance’ is perhaps what draws the 1% to the island. ‘There’s still an old-world charm to Mustique.’ There are only three restaurants and one bar, the infamous Basil’s, where the jet-set mingle into the wee hours. The Mustique way of coping with the lack of culinary outposts? Spontaneous dinner parties are common. 

And what do you wear? Do the Hilfigers have a designated wardrobe section? ‘Yes,’ laughs Tommy. ‘I used to have one that I kept here on the island,’ Dee continues. ‘But then I remember L’Wren Scott said to me, “Oh, you can’t do that. Because then you’re just wearing the same thing every time.” So I don’t do it any more. It would be easier, but easier isn’t always better,’ she jokes. ‘Tommy used to have a whole stack of things here and then I converted him to my way of thinking. He’s been coming here for 35 years, you can imagine the kind of stuff he had. We had to start fresh.’ Low-key in Mustique terms, it transpires, is still relatively high-key. After all, you can’t turn up to dinner in any old mufti when your guests might include anyone from Beyoncé and Jennifer Lopez to Robert De Niro and Denzel Washington. 

And what happens to their home when they’re not staying there? ‘We rent it out, but only to people we know.’ So don’t even bother scrolling Airbnb.