Kimora Lee Simmons Relaunches Baby Phat with Daughters Aoki and Ming Lee, Who Star in the New Ads
The new era of Baby Phat is officially here.
Kimora Lee Simmons Leissner’s iconic early-2000s brand Baby Phat — which she founded with then-husband Russell Simmons in 1999 — relaunched Friday on babyphat.com with 16 totally nostalgic pieces, including velour tracksuits and bedazzled tank tops, ranging from $80 to $300.
The former model’s teenage daughters, Aoki Lee, 17, and Ming Lee, 19, (whom she shares with Simmons) star in the very on-brand campaign images that feature updated versions of your favorite ’00s trends.
In the photos, the Simmons sisters sport the new holiday collection while decked out in throwback accessories (like flip phones!) and pose with kittens (a nod to the brand’s iconic cat logo).
The sports-themed first drop pays homage to the hip-hop inspired styles that put the brand on the map 20 years ago and we’re 100 percent here for it. According to a press release, Baby Phat will following in the footsteps of other successful streetwear brands by releasing new products on a continuous basis, with the second launch happening later this month.
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Baby Phat originally launched as a subsidiary of Simmons’ Phat Fashions line, and thanks to signature pieces (like its baby tees featuring the Baby Phat rhinestone cat) and major celebrity endorsements (from Britney Spears, Alicia Keys and more) it became a hugely successful line.
However, Simmons Leissner exited from her long-held role as Creative Director in 2010, tumultuously, it had been reported at the time, as it became a part of the Kellwood Company.
All that is in the past now.
Simmons Leissner announced the exciting relaunch in March, revealing that her daughters would be along for the ride this time around.
“Here we are again, 20 years later in 2019, and now [my daughters] are with me taking the reigns,” she told PEOPLE at the time. “This is a woman-owned company, run by me and my daughters. I’ve been in fashion for 30 years. But now it’s about passing the torch from one to the next.”
And Ming Lee and Aoki Lee are both ready to give their input to revive the iconic line.
“Aoki and I grew up walking the runway at the close of our mom’s New York Fashion Week shows,” Ming Lee said in a statement. “We’ve spent so much of our lives with this brand – it’s so cool to bring a fresh approach and to be able to create something for how women and girls dress today. Athleisure got too basic – style got diluted – this is about refreshing the streetwear our mom invented.”
Aoki Lee, who got accepted to Harvard earlier this year and started her first semester this fall, is also excited to see where they can take the brand now that social media is at play.
“From the first day we announced that there was a Baby Phat relaunch in the works [in March], we have had women clamoring for new tracksuits via comments and DMs on Instagram – or begging us to restock our capsule collab,” she said in a statement. “There’s so much passion – we take all the feedback to heart. We get to interact with Baby Phat fans in a way the brand never got to do before.”
In June, Baby Phat surprised fans by dropping a capsule collaboration with fast fashion retailer Forever 21, which sold out in 24 hours.
So if that’s any indication, the new styles that launched Friday at babyphat.com are bound to go fast!
