Aoki Lee Simmons is promoting Baby Phat with new and old pictures. The brand’s executive shared a collage of photos with her social media fans Tuesday (Nov. 15).
“Ok girls! On the count of three everybody pose like Mommy! 1 … 2 … 💥,” Aoki put in the caption of her Instagram post. The first picture showed Aoki and her sister, Ming Lee Simmons, standing beside their mom, Kimora Lee Simmons, while taking pictures for a recent campaign for Baby Phat. Aoki’s second and third pictures paid tribute to the brand’s former vibe, which placed Kimora at the forefront of its efforts.
Baby Phat was one of several apparel lines to take over the early 2000s with its edginess. Young people of the day loved the connection to Hip Hop the brand delivered and eagerly purchased everything from Baby Phat’s jeans to its purses. Momentum seemed to be everlasting until Russell Simmons sold Phat Fashions in 2004. Baby Phat ultimately disappeared from the fashion scene.
Kimora Lee Simmons and her daughters decided to revive the brand in 2019. “Here we are again,” Kimora said upon relaunching the apparel line. “Twenty years later in 2019, and now [my daughters] are with me taking the reins,” the fashion mogul shared. “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.”
Aoki and Ming have definitely taken the torch and run with passion. It was just a few weeks ago that Baby Phat partnered with Puma to bring Baby Phat x Puma to consumers. The sisters and their mom have also launched a beauty line that offers affordable options for cosmetics.
“This is the retro brand that’s reborn looking through the eyes of young people like Ming and Aoki,” Kimora Lee Simmons said of Baby Phat during a recent interview. “My girls have been working with me and going to school – and that’s tough,” she added. “It can be tough, but it’s exciting that we’re pushing that needle forward.”
Photo: Baby Phat/Instagram/ @exquisite_eye
