Coming on the heels of FUBU’s relaunch, Leissner gave us all a gift on International Women’s Day by announcing that she had acquired Baby Phat and will relaunch the label later in 2019. Remaining relatively mum on the price she paid or the company she purchased it from, all she said was: “We had to hunt around to find it.”
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Baby Phat was a revolutionary streetwear brand, one of the first to blend hip-hop with fashion and bring it to the mainstream. Leissner is also one of the first Asian women to be president of a billion-dollar corporation, serving as Baby Phat’s creative director and president from 2000 to 2010. It was in 1999 that Leissner, a supermodel and muse to Karl Lagerfeld, founded the label alongside her then-husband Russell Simmons’ line Phat Farm.
Leissner discussed the relaunch with Bloomberg’s Vonnie Quinn, also talking about her work with the UN Women on gender equality rights. She said her two college-age daughters, Ming and Aoki, are the main reason for bringing back Baby Phat. “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.”
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Leissner said that her daughters would be helping her take the reigns of the brand, which will likely include some millennial nostalgia. The signature Baby Phat rhinestone T will be accompanied by “new messaging”, and she said she will be tapping into her “amazing personal archive” for inspiration. Let’s hope this includes silk bombers, pink velour, bucket hats, and that sparkly feline logo.
Happy International Women’s Day to us!