Baby Phat's Skin Game: Crooks



Baby Phat Ad Post-Kimora

Why is Kellwood Company working so feverishly to transform Baby Phat, a successful, urban lifestyle brand, into something more along the lines of an Abercrombie & Fitch or J. Crew? Why are customers of color being ignored after years and years of supporting this brand?  Russell and Kimora Lee Simmons sold Phat Fashions, which includes Baby Phat and Phat Farm, to Kellwood Company in 2004. Kimora stayed on until August, 2010 as Creative Director, but it is Kellwood that has benefited most financially over the past 7 years where Phat Fashions is concerned. 

This is why, the way these jerks separated from Kimora and this new, "Look at us all of you white girls and boys! We want your money!" crap is driving me insane!  Here's the thing.  Baby Phat has never only appealed to customers of color.  A quick search of Kimora's Twitter mentions alone will show a wide section of loyal supporters of all backgrounds and ethnicities--from all over the world.  Wherever she goes in the world, hundreds of supporters show up!  This has never been only about appealing to customers of color, but the respect for those buyers has always been at heart, because that's where Kimora and Russell first launched this thing--among hip hop junkies and connoisseurs--I belong to that group, so I know what the hell I'm talking about.  And, Kimora was always conscientious about making sure that Baby Phat's ad campaigns represented that fact--that it was not just a brand that catered to customers of color, while still maintaining its edgy, urban roots. 

So, what all of a sudden makes Kellwood Company think that they can just give customers of color its ass to kiss?  The quality of the brand has plummeted.  The ads are about as lifeless and uninspiring as anything out there now and this overnight switch in focus in the ad campaigns is insulting to say the least. If you think we're going to go for this, you've got another thing coming, Kellwood.  Scores and scores of people still don't know that Kimora isn't heading up the brand anymore--though I can't imagine how they can't figure out that something is woefully missing with just a quick glance of the Baby Phat website--so, it's well past time that we expand this "campaign" to bring you jerks down.  Brace yourselves. --Sugar