Baby Phat
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Fashion |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Founder |
Kimora Lee Simmons Russell Simmons |
| Parent | Kellwood Company |
Baby Phat is a clothing, shoes, accessory, perfume, and lifestyle line for women and girls created in 2000. Model and entrepreneur, Kimora Lee Simmons, started helped develop the brand in 1999 and served as creative director and president till 2010. The fashion line merged hip-hop culture with high fashion under Russell Simmon's Phat Fashions LLC label. Lee is credited with bringing the brand to mainstream fashion, creating the popular fitted t-shirt and designer denim. The brand is carried in retail and department stores, including Macy's and Dillard's. The label is credited for catering urban wear towards women in a market predominately targeting men.
In 2004, Phat Fashions was sold to clothing producer Kellwood Company for $140 million, but Lee maintained control as president and creative director of Baby Phat till 2010.
Baby Phat was established under Phat Fashions LLC in 1999 as a spin-off of the urban menswear brand Phat Farm. Before being led by Lee, the Baby Phat symbol was placed on t-shirts and given as party favors to celebrities and models like Naomi Campbell and Christy Turlington. Simmons began to incorporate the tees into Phat Farm fashion shows to appeal to a female audience, and soon celebrities wore the t-shirts in public.
Lee, displeased with the look and fit of the clothes, took it upon herself to begin redesign the clothes and style of Baby Phat. Simmons named Lee president and creative director of the line in 2000, where Lee developed a more fitted t-shirt that catered towards the female body. Baby Phat would now serve as the female counterpart to the menswear brand Phat Farm.
Baby Phat entered the fashion world as one of the few urban brands for women. Phat Farm, Rocawear, and FUBU were urban brands that targeted men, and women adapted the style to their own fashions. Lee's experience in the fashion world contributed to her vision for the line – she wanted to create high fashion for an affordable price, mirroring her "fabulous" lifestyle. Lee combined street style from female hip hop stars, like Lil' Kim and Mary J. Blige, with designers like her mentor Karl Lagerfeld from Chanel. She also took from her Japanese background to influence the style.Soon, Baby Phat expanded past t-shirts to include a full collection and accessories.
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