Baby Fashions is one of the most successful African retailers in the United States. The guru behind the Phat brand is Russell Simmons, known for hip hop and rap music and founder of Def Jam Records. The brand was originally aimed at male hip-hop artists and fans who wanted to imitate them, but later began marketing women’s and children’s clothing.
In 1992, Simmons began selling his Phat Farm design line at a store in Manhattan and later partnered with boutique owner Marc Bagutta. To be more successful, Simmons realized that he had to make his clothes appeal to more than just hip hop people, so he began marketing luxury clothing influenced by the best designers in the industry. Throughout the 1990s, Simmons continued to restructure the business on many levels in order to compete with top designers such as Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein. In 1993, the women’s line was launched. Simmons married Kimora Lee in 1998, who was a former model and had an eye for fashion. She took an active role in the business and used her fashion expertise to update the clothing line and introduced jewelry, perfumes, cosmetics, lingerie, handbags, cologne, makeup, among other items. It also included a line of eye-catching looks exclusive to the plus-size woman.
Phat fashions were very successful under Russell’s leadership, yet Kimora incorporated his innovative and bold fashion concepts, and in just two years after the relaunch, the business reached a new financial record in access of $ 30 million in annual sales. . This brand is synonymous with people of all ages and sizes, and these designer clothes are sought after by superstars like Paula Abdul, Britney Spears, Lil ‘Kim, and Alicia Keys. These sassy, fun, and outgoing fashions are sold in more than 3,000 retail stores today.
