Kimora Lee Simmons Leissner has finally gotten her baby back…her Baby Phat to be exact.
The designer, former model and entrepreneur celebrated International Women’s Day on Friday by revealing that she had personally purchased the once red-hot streetwear brand Baby Phat and will relaunch the label later this year.
She declined to disclose the purchase price or the company from which it was purchased, only saying: “We had to hunt around to find it.”
Kimora was the creator of the women’s- streetwear brand 20 years ago as an extension of the Phat Farm men’s label under her then-husband Russell Simmons’ Phat Fashions company.
Leissner said when the label is relaunched for spring, it will be a “mainstream sportswear” collection for Millennials targeted to the mid-tier retail level. She plans on tapping into her “amazing personal archive” as inspiration for the collection, which will have “retro” elements that will be modernized, as well as new looks.
So expect a hint of nostalgia — including the brand’s signature Baby Phat rhinestone T — along with “new messaging,” she said. “We’re working fast and furiously and have a lot up our sleeves.”
She said her two college-age children were the primary reason she wanted to get the brand back. “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.” And young people like her 16- and 19-year-olds have a “need for messaging” that is similar to what Baby Phat represented in its prime, and still can today.
Leissner said a collaboration will also be part of the relaunch, but she is keeping the details of that under wraps for now. Peep the announcement below. Are you here for the return of Baby Phat?
