NEW YORK — Kimora Lee Simmons is all grown up, and so is her new high-end contemporary sportswear line, called KLS, launching for fall retailing.
The creative director of Baby Phat, the junior line that has been a strong performer at retail in recent years, is trying her hand at a new base of customers with KLS.
“She is a lady, more grown up and mature; she has a job and just wants to look fabulous wherever she goes,” Simmons explained of the KLS customer. “The Baby Phat girl also wants to look fabulous, but in a more casual way.”
As to be expected from hip-hop’s first lady of fashion, KLS is anything but basic — with dramatic tailored jackets, trenchcoats accented with heavy gold buttons, wool fishtail skirts, jeans covered in flocked gold etching and real fur boleros found within the line. There also are silk chiffon ruffled blouses, crystal-encrusted T-shirts and jersey evening gowns adorned with plenty of the shiniest stones. The first KLS collection, Simmons said, is inspired by Russia and her personal collection of Fabergé eggs.
“Think of the hottest, most fabulous Fabergé egg, like the ones that I have at home,” she said. “That’s this line.”
Simmons is confident about the collection as she thumbs through a rack in her corner office on the top floor of 512 Seventh Avenue here. She points out tiny details, such as the gold rope piping on a skirt and the wool blend fabric she chose for a trenchcoat. She began working on the line about a year ago and because of her experience with Baby Phat, she was clear about the direction she wanted to take with KLS.
Simmons rises from her desk chair (which looks more like a bright pink throne, complete with an embroidered Baby Phat cat logo), with a Tiffany & Co. glass of Champagne in hand and goes over to fix some minor details on the model’s look.
“I have 10 times more tummy than you do,” she joked loudly with the model. “But that’s OK. I’ve had two kids. How many have you had?”
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The new line, which Simmons said will be geared to high-end specialty retailers, will first be seen on the runway on Friday evening at the company’s fashion show at Roseland Ballroom here. Simmons said showgoers will be able to tell the difference between Baby Phat and KLS immediately, as the more casual pieces will be from Baby Phat and the more elaborate and tailored pieces will be from KLS — and, she vowed, everything seen on the runway will go into production.
“This is something we have been discussing in-house a lot lately,” she said. “And we decided it was best to create pieces for the runway that can be produced, it’s very important.”
The first KLS line will be available to buyers beginning Feb. 20, when it will exhibit at the Fashion Coterie trade show. Company executives at the Kellwood Co.-owned Phat Fashions, the parent company for Baby Phat, Phat Farm and KLS, declined to give first-year sales expectations. The KLS collection wholesales from $67.50 to $300.
Last March, Simmons launched the KLS cosmetics collection, which is available at Sephora stores. After not being able to find a corporate partner to produce the beauty collection, she decided to do it herself.
“It’s a youthful line, a little trendy, although we’re not a slave to the trends. We embrace them and interpret them for ourselves,” said Simmons at the time of the beauty launch. “The colors are very sheer and easy to use. This line is about enhancing your natural beauty, not hiding it.”
In addition to cosmetics and apparel, Simmons said she will launch more product categories to make KLS a full lifestyle brand. While she hasn’t signed on with any licensing partners yet, she hopes to add handbags, lingerie and jewelry to the assortment.
“Over time, it will grow a lot,” she said. “Similar to the way we grew Baby Phat over time. When I think of my brands, I see the overall picture, with all of the elements to make it a lifestyle.”