That edgy, embroidered cat along women’s tracksuits and T-shirts in the early 2000s is returning to the fashion scene. Fashion entrepreneur Kimora Lee Simmons has just relaunched Baby Phat with her daughters, Ming Lee Simmons and Aoki Lee Simmons. First launched under Phat Fashions LLC in 1998 as an extension of Russell Simmons' urban Phat Farm brand, Simmons became the chief executive officer and creative director focused on emphasizing the brand's femininity through the fit of the clothes and the addition of blingy accessories.
By 2003, Baby Phat was one of the most profitable units under the Phat Fashions umbrella. It profitability increased 30% from the prior year, creating to more than $1 billion. Simmons, a former supermodel, delivered star power and access to celebrities who wore the fashions. Baby Phat was the first brand to livestream her exclusive runway show on a Jumbotron in Times Square. It was also a trailblazer in fashion and entrepreneurship through innovative marketing skills. She had her own reality television shows “Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane” and “Kimora: House of Fab.”
In 2004, Phat Fashions was acquired by Kellwood Company and in 2010, Simmons had parted ways from the brand. Though she and Russell Simmons divorced in 2009, she still uses their last name professionally. Since then Kimora Lee Simmons, 44, has gotten remarried to former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner in 2013 and her daughters have grown up.
Simmons announced Baby Phat's return on International Women's Day during a speech at a United Nations Women and Gender Innovation Coalition for Change. She said she was inspired to relaunch the brand by her daughters, who are now 16 and 19
“It’s perfect timing for this,” she said. “Over the past several years, we realized the brand resonates with people and lives deep in their souls.”
(Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dzewzGtEe0)
The team behind
Baby Phat is working fast to get up to speed with the evolving times, starting
with the creation of the brand’s social media pages. Baby Phat made its first
official rebranded
appearance on social media on April 4, posting a collage that takes up their entire feed and has been updated regularly.
Simmon’s daughter, Aoki Lee Simmons, is more than excited to be part of the reboot of such an iconic brand. “Baby Phat has always been a brand for women,” Simmons, 16, tells her followers in her Instagram post following the announcement of the brand’s return. “We have always celebrated every shape, every size, every race, every background; every woman. In 2019, we’re bringing it back for all of us because we’re worth celebrating.”
Many of Baby Phat’s previous consumers are thrilled to hear that its relaunch this year. “Kimora is literally one of my favorite fashion designers,” said Omega Nugent, a Howard University student. “The fashion industry did not originally take well to Baby Phat because it was ‘urban’, but next thing you know there’s people wearing baby hairs on the runway.”
For some consumers, Baby Phat brings back nostalgia. “Baby Phat reminds me of those days I would be in my room singing my heart out to B2K and Pretty Ricky,” said Jessika Wilson, a former Baby Phat customer. “It’s truly a brand you could never forget.”
The brand, run for women by women, has already generated lots of buzz.
“We’re working fast and furiously and have a lot up our sleeves,” Simmons said.
By 2003, Baby Phat was one of the most profitable units under the Phat Fashions umbrella. It profitability increased 30% from the prior year, creating to more than $1 billion. Simmons, a former supermodel, delivered star power and access to celebrities who wore the fashions. Baby Phat was the first brand to livestream her exclusive runway show on a Jumbotron in Times Square. It was also a trailblazer in fashion and entrepreneurship through innovative marketing skills. She had her own reality television shows “Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane” and “Kimora: House of Fab.”
In 2004, Phat Fashions was acquired by Kellwood Company and in 2010, Simmons had parted ways from the brand. Though she and Russell Simmons divorced in 2009, she still uses their last name professionally. Since then Kimora Lee Simmons, 44, has gotten remarried to former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner in 2013 and her daughters have grown up.
Simmons announced Baby Phat's return on International Women's Day during a speech at a United Nations Women and Gender Innovation Coalition for Change. She said she was inspired to relaunch the brand by her daughters, who are now 16 and 19
“It’s perfect timing for this,” she said. “Over the past several years, we realized the brand resonates with people and lives deep in their souls.”
(Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dzewzGtEe0)
The team behind
Baby Phat is working fast to get up to speed with the evolving times, starting
with the creation of the brand’s social media pages. Baby Phat made its first
official rebranded
appearance on social media on April 4, posting a collage that takes up their entire feed and has been updated regularly.
Simmon’s daughter, Aoki Lee Simmons, is more than excited to be part of the reboot of such an iconic brand. “Baby Phat has always been a brand for women,” Simmons, 16, tells her followers in her Instagram post following the announcement of the brand’s return. “We have always celebrated every shape, every size, every race, every background; every woman. In 2019, we’re bringing it back for all of us because we’re worth celebrating.”
Many of Baby Phat’s previous consumers are thrilled to hear that its relaunch this year. “Kimora is literally one of my favorite fashion designers,” said Omega Nugent, a Howard University student. “The fashion industry did not originally take well to Baby Phat because it was ‘urban’, but next thing you know there’s people wearing baby hairs on the runway.”
For some consumers, Baby Phat brings back nostalgia. “Baby Phat reminds me of those days I would be in my room singing my heart out to B2K and Pretty Ricky,” said Jessika Wilson, a former Baby Phat customer. “It’s truly a brand you could never forget.”
The brand, run for women by women, has already generated lots of buzz.
“We’re working fast and furiously and have a lot up our sleeves,” Simmons said.
