Model, mogul and mother-of-five, Kimora Lee Simmons is still a force to be reckoned with in fashion. Her career began in her early teens, when Karl Lagerfeld signed her to her a contract with the house of Chanel. She made her debut with the house in the fall 1989 Haute Couture show. From there, her ascent on and off the runway came quickly. From 1990 to 1999, her runway moments at Armani, Fendi, Valentino, Tracy Reese, Isaac Mizrahi and Marc Jacobs brought her international recognition.
Magazine covers for Vogue and Elle came soon after. But modeling was never an end game for Kimora. In 1999, she set her sights on building her own fashion empire, with the launch of her global lifestyle brand, Baby Phat, an off-shoot of its menswear counterpart Phat Farm founded by her then-husband Russell Simmons. The brand reached a new, untapped consumer in the category of urban fashion—women. Two years later, Baby Phat hit a milestone $1 billion in revenue, solidifying her mogul status.
By the mid-aughts, she was already a multi-hyphenate and fashion icon, with businesses across multiple fashion lifestyle categories. She would also add reality television personality to her portfolio in 2007, and her first namesake fashion label KLS (Kimora Lee Simmons) in 2015, while still walking the runway from time to time. In 2019, when nostalgia began to rule the fashion conversation once again, she relaunched Baby Phat successfully and is set to head back to the screen in her reality series, “Kimora: Back in the Fab Lane” this year.
From WWD and the Fairchild Archive, here is a look back at her time on the runway.
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Kimora Lee Simmons Model, Hip Hop Fashion Pioneer and Fashion Icon
Image Credit: Thomas Iannaccone Model Kimora Lee Simmons on the runway at the Fendi fall 1990 ready to wear fashion show.
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Kimora Lee Simmons Model, Hip Hop Fashion Pioneer and Fashion Icon
Image Credit: Thomas Iannaccone Model Kimora Lee Simmons on the runway at the Isaac Mizrahi fall 1991 ready to wear fashion show in New York.
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Kimora Lee Simmons Model, Hip Hop Fashion Pioneer and Fashion Icon
Image Credit: Art Streiber Model Kimora Lee Simmons on the runway at the Giorgio Armani spring 1991 ready to wear fashion show in Milan, Italy.
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Kimora Lee Simmons Model, Hip Hop Fashion Pioneer and Fashion Icon
Image Credit: Art Streiber Model Kimora Lee Simmons on the runway at the Krizia Spring 1991 ready to wear fashion show in Milan, Italy.
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Kimora Lee Simmons Model, Hip Hop Fashion Pioneer and Fashion Icon
Image Credit: George Chinsee Model Kimora Lee Simmons on the runway at the Isaace Mizrahi spring 1991 ready to wear fashion show in New York.
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Kimora Lee Simmons Model, Hip Hop Fashion Pioneer and Fashion Icon
Image Credit: George Chinsee Model Kimora Lee Simmons arriving at the Perry Ellis fall 1992 ready to wear show in New York.
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Kimora Lee Simmons Model, Hip Hop Fashion Pioneer and Fashion Icon
Image Credit: George Chinsee Model Kimora Lee Simmons on the runway at the Marc Jacobs for Perry Ellis spring 1992 ready to wear fashion show in New York.
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Kimora Lee Simmons Model, Hip Hop Fashion Pioneer and Fashion Icon
Image Credit: Fairchild Archive Model Kimora Lee Simmons on the runway at the Fendi spring 1993 ready to wear fashion show in Milan, Italy.
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Kimora Lee Simmons Model, Hip Hop Fashion Pioneer and Fashion Icon
Image Credit: Thomas Iannaccone Model Kimora Lee Simmons on the runway at the Joseph Abboud fall 1992 ready to wear fashion show in New York.
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Kimora Lee Simmons Model, Hip Hop Fashion Pioneer and Fashion Icon
Image Credit: Wade Watson Model Kimora Lee Simmons on the runway at the Emanuel Ungaro fall 1992 ready to wear fashion show in Paris, France.
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Kimora Lee Simmons Model, Hip Hop Fashion Pioneer and Fashion Icon
Image Credit: Art Streiber Model Kimora Lee Simmons on the runway at the Salvatore Ferragamo fall 1992 ready to wear fashion show in Milan, Italy.
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Kimora Lee Simmons Model, Hip Hop Fashion Pioneer and Fashion Icon
Image Credit: David Maestri Model Kimora Lee Simmons on the runway at the Emporio Armani spring 1993 ready to wear fashion show in Milan, Italy.
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Kimora Lee Simmons Model, Hip Hop Fashion Pioneer and Fashion Icon
Image Credit: Robert Mitra Model Kimora Lee Simmons on the runway at the Arnold Scassi fall 1994 ready to wear fashion show in New York.
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Kimora Lee Simmons Model, Hip Hop Fashion Pioneer and Fashion Icon
Image Credit: Emanuele Sardella Model Kimora Lee Simmons on the runway at the Giorgio Armani spring 1995 ready to wear fashion show in Milan, Italy.
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Kimora Lee Simmons Model, Hip Hop Fashion Pioneer and Fashion Icon
Image Credit: Emanuele Sardella Model Kimora Lee Simmons on the runway at the Emporio Armani spring 1996 ready to wear fashion show in Milan, Italy.
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Kimora Lee Simmons Model, Hip Hop Fashion Pioneer and Fashion Icon
Image Credit: George Chinsee Model Kimora Lee Simmons walks the runway in the Tracy Reese for Magaschoni Spring 1994 Ready to Wear Runway Show on November 4, 1993, in New York City.
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Kimora Lee Simmons Model, Hip Hop Fashion Pioneer and Fashion Icon
Image Credit: Davide Maestri Model Kimora Lee Simmons walks in the Moschino Fall 1995 Ready to Wear Runway Show on March 5, 1995, in Milan, Italy.
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Kimora Lee Simmons Model, Hip Hop Fashion Pioneer and Fashion Icon
Image Credit: Emanuele Sardella Model Kimora Lee Simmons on the runway at the Missoni spring 1995 ready to wear fashion show in Milan, Italy.
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Kimora Lee Simmons Model, Hip Hop Fashion Pioneer and Fashion Icon
Image Credit: George Chinsee Model Kimora Lee Simmons on the runway at the Tommy Hilfiger fall 1999 coed runway show at the Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan.
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Kimora Lee Simmons Model, Hip Hop Fashion Pioneer and Fashion Icon
Image Credit: Giovanni Giannoni Designer Kimora Lee Simmons and her daughters Ming Lee Simmons and Aoki Lee Simmons walk finale of the Fall 2005 Baby Phat show in New York.
