RS Recommends

Baby Phat Comeback: Iconic Early Aughts Mall Brand Returns With New PUMA Collab

Y2K rides again with a collaboration between Kimora Lee Simmons’ iconic aughts clothing line and footwear brand PUMA

By Alison Abbey

Alison Abbey

Contact Alison Abbey by Email

View all posts by Alison Abbey

August 17, 2022

Add us as a Google Preferred Source

baby phat pum

Ming Lee Simmons, Kimora Lee Simmons and Aoki Lee Simmons for PUMA x Baby Phat PUMA

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may receive an affiliate commission.

It’s a sunny day in Y2K. You’re strutting onto campus like you’re stepping onto a catwalk. “Try Again” by Aaliyah is bumping in your head. (It wouldn’t be bumping in your ears for another year when the iPod debuted in 2001.) Your two-way buzzes at your hip. You pause to run a finger over your glittery lip-gloss and catch your reflection in the window. Dripping in head-to-toe blue velour, you pull the zipper of your body-hugging track jacket to just the right spot and turn around to admire the Siamese cat emblazoned on the back. Forget Juicy Couture. You’re a Baby Phat girl.

Trending Stories

Michael Douglas Gives Update on Jack Nicholson: He's 'Well' But Has 'Disappeared'

A Timeline of Nicki Minaj and Donald Trump's Bizarre MAGA Alliance

'SNL' Cold Open: Trump Crashes Tom Hanks' Halloween to Praise His 'Great A**'

Harry Styles Honored by Jalen Brunson at Madison Square Garden, Receives 30 Nights Banner

It’s hard to describe the chokehold Kimora Lee Simmons’ globally-rocked Baby Phat line had on us in the aughts. Created as an offshoot of her then husband Def Jam founder and all-around mogul Russell Simmons’ Phat Farm line, Baby Phat became a moment-defining crossroads between fashion and culture. While the line may have been born out of urban streetwear, it went on to epitomize the type of luxury we lived for in the aughts. With its roots planted firmly in hip hop and inspired by the genre’s biggest artists of the day, Baby Phat was nouveau riche in the best way. It was denim as formalwear. It was blinged out. It was body positive and inclusive. Tracksuits, denim, swimwear, shoes, even a special-edition Motorola cell phone — supermodel Simmons had us all working it in our Baby Phat.

And that included some of the hottest artists of the day too — from Alicia Keys and Lil Kim to Paris Hilton and Aaliyah herself, the reigning queens of the pop culture scene were often photographed in pieces from the iconic line.

Now, PUMA is bringing the Phat back with a new collab that has us ready to show off our fabulosity (IYKYK).

puma baby phat

Buy PUMA x Baby Phat Mayze Sandal $75

Inspired by the fast-paced neon under-glow of the aughties street scene, the new apparel and footwear collection draws in iconic silhouettes with a feminine twist, imbued with all the confidence and power of the early-2000s It Girl.

Editor’s picks



The 250 Greatest Albums of the 21st Century So Far



The 100 Best TV Episodes of All Time



The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time



100 Best Movies of the 21st Century

The PUMA x Baby Phat Mayze

Buy PUMA x Baby Phat Mayze Sneakers $110

It wouldn’t be PUMA without shoes that are equal parts style and staple. Enter the Mayze Sandal, a fuzzy platform sandal with a sneaker-style sole and with pops of pink and patterned details in its design. And for the sneakerheads there’s the PUMA Mayze, a classic white all-leather upper with bight pops of pink and signature branded charms. Of course, both pairs are emblazoned with the PUMA and Baby Phat logos for double the chic street cred.

On the apparel side a very now bralette gets an ’00s makeover in baby pink; a matching pair of bike tights shows off a gold Baby Phat logo on the hip and a PUMA label on the booty; and the babydoll tee makes a triumphant return by way of the Fierce Fitted Tee in pink. with an allover PUMA x Baby Phat logo design and the telltale Siamese cat taking center stage.

 

puma baby phat

Buy PUMA x Baby Phat Fierce Fitted Tee $35

The then-meets-now of it all promises to appeal to a wide array of women across various age groups. Those of us who were lucky enough to thrive in the time of Baby Phat will rejoice at the return of a legendary part of our fashion history, while Gen Z will surely be drawn in by the streetstyle designs that are just as of the moment as they are a throwback.

Nowhere is this juxtaposition more apparent than in the line’s campaign, which stars Simmons alongside daughters Ming Lee Simmons, 22, and Aoki Lee Simmons, 21, who toddled the runways of their mom’s fashion shows as children. “Start your engines,” Kimora wrote in an Instagram post teasing the collection: “We can’t wait for you to see it!”

Ming Lee Simmons, Kimora Lee Simmons and Aoki Lee Simmons for PUMA x Baby Phat

Retailing from $25 to $110, the collection is now available on PUMA.com (as well as FootLocker.com, ChampsSports.com and select Foot Locker and Champs Sports stores).

In this article:

More News

Read more

Top stories newsletter

A Cultural Force That Transcends Generations

Enter your Email

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services.