He obtained an architecture degree from Texas Tech before starting to work with HMBH, a Dallas-based architecture firm. In the 1980s, he moved to New York and was hired by retail focused firm Peter Marino, where he oversaw the design of Barneys New York’s Madison Avenue store and its expansion to Los Angeles and Chicago. In 1991, Hutchison joined Polo Ralph Lauren, directing the in-house store design team where he worked until 1998 as Vice President overseeing a team of 35.