American fashion designer
Phillip Lim (born September 16, 1973 as Pheng Lim) is an American fashion designer of Chinese descent whose parents immigrated to America from Thailand during the Cambodian genocide. Lim co-founded and worked at the Los Angeles-based fashion label Development from 2000 to 2004. In the fall of 2005, he co-founded 3.1 Phillip Lim with friend and business partner Wen Zhou, becoming the company's creative representative.
Lim has garnered both critical and commercial success with his eponymous line. The Council of Fashion Designers of America awarded Lim the 2007 award for Emerging Talent in Womenswear for his work at 3.1 Phillip Lim. In 2012, he was awarded the Council's Swarovski award for Menswear.
There is a secret hippie within me.
I swear by the invigorating shampoo and conditioner by Como Shambhala. When you’re in need for a quick mental vacation, it does the trick
I think my parents were immigrants, you know, so I guess I would be first generation. Growing up in California.
I'm not such a public person.
I'm such a technophobe.
My mother was a seamstress, so making clothes was not something you would willingly go into.
I started in college as a business major and finally transferred to home economics and studied making clothes.
I don't have a life where it's galas, posh affairs. It's me, my dog and a sofa. And a TV.
My mother has become my daughter and I've become her guardian.
I try to always have flowers in the house. I have a florist in Chinatown, and they deliver orchids every two weeks. I like living with living things.
I always try to appreciate the most fleeting moments. The idea of the acrobats constantly tumbling and trying to adjust - I think that is what we do with aesthetics. It is a cyclical rhythm
Since an early age, I've been intrigued by the idea of design evolution.
I have always had a relationship with clothes.
When people ask about inspirations, and you're like 'oh, it was a flower or a mountain or a pony', some people just think you're insane. I'm worried to come across that way.
Being from a very traditional Chinese-American family, my parents believed the only options to have a successful life were to be a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer or a business person.
When I say that I'm a businessperson and a dressmaker, it's the truth. I run a business, and I make dresses, I make blouses.
I love crazy, gaudy bling.
One of the reasons I wanted to collaborate with Target is because I felt that together we could create a collection that would inspire - one that is cool and chic, but still very accessible.
You know, for myself, my personal journey has been a very fortunate one and I would say to people it's like the stars lined up and the skies opened up and the sun shined and I met the right people - was at the right time. And, most importantly, you know I love what I do.
Just because you work in the fashion industry, it doesn't mean you live your life in fashion.
I'm really a classicist at heart - with a bit of madness!
You can make jeans and a t-shirt super stylish. It's what you make of it, you know?