Tommy Hilfiger Says Gigi Hadid's Not Dumb Like Old-School Supermodels

Tommy Hilfiger heaped praise on Gigi Hadid, but in the process threw major shade on models he worked with back in the day.

We got the fashion legend Monday in WeHo leaving Craig's, and asked about Gigi getting back with Zayn Malik. He's down with whatever she wants to do and can't say enough about her intellect.

But then ... Tommy says Gigi is a break from the past, when models were beautiful, but dense.

Among the models he's worked with ... Gisele, Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, Adriana Lima, Kate Moss and Iman.