Baby Phat is coming back.
About 20 years after its inception, the women's urbanwear brand is set to relaunch in the upcoming months. Baby Phat developer Kimora Lee Simmons Leissner announced the news Friday, revealing she had personally purchased the brand from an undisclosed company.
"We had to hunt around for it," she told WWD. "[...] It's perfect timing for this. Over the past several years, we realized the brand resonates with people and lives deep in their souls."
Baby Phat was a sub-label of the Phat Fashions imprint owned by Leissner's ex-husband Russell Simmons. The brand served as the womenswear counterpart of Phat Farm, and earned more than a billion dollars in sales during its heyday. Baby Phat, along with the Phat Fashions companies, was sold to Kellwood Apparel in 2004. A couple of years later, Leissner took on the role of brand president, and held that position until 2010. The details surrounding her departure were not revealed; however, Leissner would go on to suggest that the move was not her decision.
"It's over. It's absolutely over. It was very abrupt and sudden. I was shocked," she told the Daily News in 2010. "It's very, very sad for me. It was totally unexpected."
Leissner told WWD that the Baby Phat relaunch is scheduled for spring, and that it will deliver "mainstream sportswear" pieces for millennials. She said the inaugural collection will take cues from her personal archives, resulting in a mix of retro and modern elements.
"We're working fast and furiously and have a lot up our sleeves," she said.
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