When I say asian fashion designers what are some names that come to your mind? Vera Wang? Yohji Yamamoto? Alexander Wang? Does the name Phillip Lim come to mind? I know that we’ve mentioned Phillip Lim in some of our previous blogs, but in this week’s edition of Behind The Brand, I want to take a closer look at the 3.1 Phillip Lim brand and come to understand how Lim created the fashion house that we all know and love today.

Fashion through humble beginnings

Lim was born in Thailand and is of Chinese descent. As a young child his parents immigrated from Cambodia to the United States (Southern California to be specific) to seek better opportunities and to escape the civil war that erupted at the time. Like many busy parents, Lim’s mother would often bring her work home with her, which was the first time Lim had ever been exposed to the world of fashion and clothing alteration. In addition to being a seamstress in a local clothing factory, his mother would also hand make clothes for him and his siblings in their home. Lim stated in an interview: “I remember my mother being a seamstress and bringing work home and I would just stay by her side and stayed by that sewing machine and just listen to the purr of the sewing machine. And every time she got a break I’d say “oh mom can you fix this? Can you cut this off? Can you like take this in a bit more?” And that’s how it all started.” – Phillip Lim, SHOWstudio, 2012.

Lim continued to be enamoured and fascinated by the world of fashion. Every time he looked at clothes he would picture altering the silhouette and proportions of the design to create a better looking garment. He was subconsciously designing clothes without even realising it.

Lim’s mother (Hannah Lim) photographed in her makeshift sewing studio at their home.

Challenging cultural norms

While Lim had a keen interest in fashion, he considered it be more of a hobby/interest and felt as if he needed to push it aside and “grow up”. As a child of Chinese immigrant parents, Lim jokingly stated that his career opportunities were limited to being a doctor, lawyer or business person. Feeling the pressure to confirm, he enrolled into business school but would subsequently drop out after three years. On his way from leaving his last class, he passed a textiles lesson being held in the home economics department of his university. Lim secretly took classes here and eventually graduated with a degree in sewing and home economics.

Like so many immigrant children who don’t end up into professional fields, Lim felt that he disappointed his parents because of his career choices. When Lim told his parents that he dropped out of business school and decided to pursue fashion full time, he recalled that his mother didn’t take this news well: “And she literally cried. She was like, all we want for you is a better life. But now you’re doing what I did. I worked in factories and no one ever saw me. Why do you want to be like me? When no one looks at you.” – Phillip Lim, Song of Style, 2018. Lim would later use this as his motivation to make a name for himself and his brand within the industry. Ultimately his dreams paid off, and Lim has been able to grow a hugely successful fashion house and prove to his parents that you can be seen and celebrated for your creative vision. And of course, like any other proud parent, his mother tries to attend every fashion show she can.

The birth of 3.1 Phillip Lim

After Lim graduated he took up a retail job at Barneys in Beverly Hills. Whilst unpacking some boxes in the storeroom he came across some pieces from from a young, Iranian-American fashion designer called Katayone Adeli. Lim immediately identified with the minimalist aesthetic of the brand and promptly contacted them to try and secure an internship as a design assistant. Despite not knowing what a portfolio was, he got himself an internship and eventually, through his innate talent and tenacity, earned a permanent position in her design team. Unfortunately, his role at Katayone Adeli would come to an end as Adeli wanted to move her business to New York and Lim wanted to remain in California to stay close to his family.

With Lim committing to stay in California, he found a role for himself with the fashion label Development and in 2000, Lim launched his first ever collection with them. His collection was sold under the “Development” brand name and featured modern fashion pieces for women. However, after four years Lim would eventually later part ways with Development due to creative differences.

Despite the fact that his business relationship with Development had ended, Lim remained close with an old fabric supplier to the brand called Wen Zhou. Lim shared his dreams of creating a clothing collection for the high fashion market but expressed doubts about whether or not he could do it. Zhou truly believed in her friend and encouraged him to move to New York with her to create a fashion label together.

“We received our first order and it was a quarter of a million dollars for our first season, for a bunch of kids that knew nothing. We called our company 3.1 Phillip Lim because Phillip didn’t want to use his name. I told him to use his name, and then we were both 31 and so we said we’re going with 3.1 Phillip Lim because 31 sounded really old at that time.” – Wen Zhou, Forbes, 2020.

Wen Zhou and Phillip Lim

With Zhou acting as CEO of the label and Lim as the creative director and designer, the 3.1 Philip Lim brand has become a fashion powerhouse for minimalist and contemporary design. Today the label has racked up numerous awards and has a multitude of famous fans. As of 2020, the brand has just celebrated its 15th anniversary and is showing no signs of slowing down.

Some 3.1 Phillip Lim pieces that we love

In my opinion, Lim’s work is the perfect fusion of classic contemporary design and minimalism. The clean cuts and toned down colour palettes that he uses for the the collection are so easy to wear. From dresses to smaller accessories, there truly is something for everyone in this collection. To discover more pieces from the collection click here.

3.1 Phillip Lim
Navy Jersey Maxi Dress
£620

3.1 Phillip Lim
Ivory Cotton Blend Midi Dress
£620

3.1 Phillip Lim
Black Taffeta & Cotton Dress
£440

3.1 Phillip Lim
Twill Biker Jacket
£290

3.1 Phillip Lim
Sherpa Bonded Sporty Jacket
£580

3.1 Phillip Lim
Ribbed Trim Sleeveless Shirt
£200

3.1 Phillip Lim
Tapered Leg Wool Trousers
£149

3.1 Phillip Lim
Relax Fit Trousers
£355

3.1 Phillip Lim
Ruffled Sleeved Shirt
£140

3.1 Phillip Lim
Striped Wide Leg Trousers
£160

3.1 Phillip Lim
Belted Cotton Blend Shorts
£290

3.1 Philip Lim
Pleated Stain Midi Skirt
£530

3.1 Phillip Lim
Odita Lattice Pouch
£585

3.1 Phillip Lim
Mini Alix Shoulder Bag
£500

3.1 Phillip Lim
Pashli Mini Satchel Bag
£585

3.1 Phillip Lim
Pashli Medium Bag
£755

3.1 Phillip Lim
Freida Platform Slides
£450

3.1 Phillip Lim
Alexa Ankle Boots
£395

3.1 Phillip Lim
Nadia Soft Heel Boots
£475

3.1 Phillip Lim
Chunky Leather Boots
£475

Food for thought

Few fashion brands embody the stereotypical American dream like 3.1 Phillip Lim. As a child of asian immigrant parents myself its incredible to see a successful asian American fashion designer/entrepreneur succeed like he has done. Having overcome this personal doubts, Lim managed to inspire thousands of immigrants across the world to pursue their dreams. As Lim continues to make noise in the fashion industry, I hope that more people pay attention to the struggles that he’s encountered within the industry and make efforts to support the up and coming designers like him.

From a cultural perspective, it’s inspiring to see Lim shift his parents naive perspective of the world. After all, he’s living proof that you can be seen and noticed in the fashion industry. Lim has gone from being a young boy who used to watch his mother sew clothes for him and his siblings, to creating a multimillion dollar global fashion label. And best of all, it was born through his love of sewing that his mother shared with him.

Phillip Lim and his mother Hannah Lim.

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Want to learn more about other brands? Check out our previous Behind the Brand blog, where we looked at Kanye West’s brand, Yeezy.

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Author: Chloe Pang