Phillip Lim | Photo: But Sou Lai

NEW YORK, United States — “I always believed in making clothes with affordable prices,” said Phillip Lim, one of the many young designers to have emerged in New York over the past few years. But unlike his peers, when Lim launched his label back in the autumn of 2005, he made a conscious decision not to compete in the high-end designer category. Instead, Lim’s vision was to offer his customers beautifully made, well-designed clothing at a contemporary price point.

Lim’s fashion journey began with Development, a Los Angeles-based line he started with partners in 2000. But four years later, after relationships turned thorny, Lim walked away from the label. Soon after, a friend he had met in Paris convinced Lim to come to New York, just to ‘hang out’ for the week. That friend was Wen Zhou, who would soon become chief executive of Lim’s new brand and his new business partner in an entrepreneurial venture that is on track to turn over more than $60 million this year — not bad for seven years of hard work.

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“I grew up in a duality where day was Western culture and night was completely Eastern culture. I grew up fighting my Eastern heritage, my Chinese side. As I get older I have this innate yearning to realise my roots and get deeper in touch with them.”

Phillip Lim, speaking to CNN Talk Asia on the occasion of his first fashion show in Asia, held late last year in Beijing.

Bulgari S/S 09 ad campaign, courtesy of Bulgari

Bulgari sees improvement in April after Q1 loss (Reuters)
“Italy’s Bulgari posted improved sales in its own stores in April after a first-quarter net loss, hurt by the financial crisis sapping demand for luxury jewellery, watches and perfumes.”

Fashion icon pays up in copycat spat (Toronto Star)
“A struggling Toronto fashion label is getting an undisclosed financial settlement from fashion icon Diane von Furstenberg for appropriating the design of their vintage-looking, tea-dyed, floral jacket.” This is not the first time a young designer has accused Von Furstenberg of stealing their designs, as reported on BoF in April of last year.

Selfridges’ Heiress-In-Chief (Forbes)
“Alannah Weston is the daughter of a billionaire, she’s arty and she’s charged with running London’s superstore into its next 100 years.”

Out on a Lim: Phillip Lim’s Three Product Launches (WWD)
“Phillip Lim is optimistic. ‘We’re not fearful of the economy,’ he says, a bit zenlike considering the impact of the recession on his four-year-old line, 3.1 Phillip Lim.” (Subscription required)

Gisele Bündchen: The charmed life of the mega-model (The Independent)
“There are supermodels – and there is Gisele Bündchen. How did the girl from Brazil become the biggest star in fashion history?”

Wen Zhou, CEO of 3.1 Phillip Lim. Photo: Akira Yamada

NEW YORK, United States — Mention the name Wen Zhou to the average fashion fanatic on the street, or even ‘important’ fashion editors, and they may shrug their sh0ulders, not recognising the name. But, mention her name to fashion industry insiders, especially retailers and independent fashion brands, and invariably the words “dynamo”, “amazing” and “genius” will be volleyed right back at you.

As CEO of 3.1 Phillip Lim, Wen has earned the respect of the industry for her entrepreneurial mindset and can-do attitude, propelling the 3.1 Phillip Lim business from fledgling start-up to international fashion business—with retail stores in Tokyo, New York and Los Angeles and annual revenues exceeding $42 million—in just over four years.

Wen’s special skills in fabric sourcing, production management combined with sound business judgment have enabled the 3.1 Phillip Lim business to stake out a positioning in the market that is not easily replicated by others, combining a strong design point-of-view from Phillip Lim with high-quality, made-in-China production and accessible price points enabled by Wen’s strong relationships in China. Together, Wen and Phillip make a formidable team.

I recently caught up with Wen in the 3.1 Phillip Lim studio in New York and over lunch in Paris to talk about how she is coping with the economic downturn and the ideas she has up her sleeve for Phillip Lim in the year to come.

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