Kimora Lee Simmons on Baby Phat’s relaunch and Forever 21 collaboration

Kimora Lee Simmons always knew she’d come back to Baby Phat.

After splitting with the company — which was previously owned and then sold by her ex-husband Russell Simmons — in 2010, the former supermodel, 44, bought back the popular streetwear brand earlier this year with plans to relaunch.

Fans can get a first taste of the new Baby Phat with the brand’s collaboration with Forever 21, which launched on Thursday and is already almost sold out. The range includes plenty of ’90s staples — terrycloth tube tops, cheetah print and huge hoop earrings — as well as 2019 favorites like bike shorts and bodysuits.

Prices range from $14.90 for a crop top to $17.90 for bike shorts and $24.90 for a sweatshirt.

“I did expect [Baby Phat’s sexy style to come back], actually — fashion is so cyclical. I love being a part of this life cycle from the O.G. Baby Phat to our new, reinvented, modern-take on the brand,” Simmons told Page Six Style ahead of the launch.

“It’s so fulfilling to see one generation squealing with nostalgia at the news of our relaunch, and another discovering the brand for the first time. I’m heartened that the original aesthetic found its wait into the zeitgeist. That’s affirmation for me and a whole community of women who were underserved by fashion the first time around.”

As for that iconic cat logo? “A whole generation of girls love the logo for what they know the brand stood for — even though they weren’t old enough to wear it at the time.”

Baby Phat will officially relaunch this fall, offering more ’90s nostalgia along with denim. Above everything, Simmons said the company is “exclusively about fun,” flirtation and attitude.

Simmons often featured daughters Ming Lee Simmons and Aoki Lee Simmons on her Baby Phat runways when they were young children; now all grown up at 19 and 16 years old, respectively, they’re starring in the Forever 21 collaboration’s campaign and influencing the relaunch’s overall look and feel.

“My world is shaped in so many ways by my daughters. They grew up walking the Baby Phat runways with me, and now they’re grown and working with me on the design and creative direction of the collection and on building the business itself,” she said. “It’s important to me to share Baby Phat in a totally fresh and accessible way with an entirely new generation of women.”

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