As she relaunches the iconic brand after 20 years, the designer reflects on bringing a high-fashion and unapologetically female perspective to streetwear.
Author:Jessica L. YarbroughPublish date:Jun 13, 2019Updated onJun 12, 2019Kimora Lee Simmons Leissner launched Baby Phat by Kimora Lee Simmons — the womenswear brand that epitomized early aughts streetwear with baby tees, bedazzled jeans and a sexy cat in silhouette — in 1999. It was huge. The fashion week presentations were over the top. The front row was always star-studded. Under Simmons Leissner's creative direction, Baby Phat became a billion-dollar company.
The timing is spot-on. Whether you like it or not, early-2000s fashion is back, with everything from going-out tops to low-rise jeans reentering the style cycle. "I've always seen it coming," Leissner Simmons tells Fashionista. "This is one of those cases where 'been there, done that' is great — women have been there, done that and want that."
"Doing it," in this case, means interrupting the male-dominated streetwear market with an unapologetically female perspective. This was Simmons Leissner's mission back in '99, as well. When oversized jerseys and too-big tees purchased and repurposed from the men's section were de rigueur, Baby Phat presented another option: shrunken, form-fitting pieces made by women, for women — of all races and sizes, no less.
During my interview with Simmons Leissner, she seems a little stuck on this idea of being forgotten, or left out of a larger conversation. She knows exactly how influential she was, and still is, really. "There are, like, thousands and thousands of kids named Kimora [after me], and I want them to understand what that means," she says . And she demands a little credit, goddammit.
"Look at Chanel, what does it represent?" she asks. The answer comes without pause: "The Depression, costume jewelry, costume now being high end, chains, faux pearls," she rattles off. "That's high-fashion perspective."
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