Phillip Lim, the internationally revered Chinese American fashion designer and 3.1 Phillip Lim label co-founder, is sitting to the right of me inside his flagship store in NoHo, Manhattan. We’re chatting in the back of the store, on wide oblong steps that stretch from one end of the space to the other. “These steps are actually inspired by the ones in Union Square,” he tells me, “where rallies and conversations and music happen at night. We wanted that energy to be captured in here.”
A deep lover of New York City, Lim divulges that his favorite neighborhood is Chinatown – but bringing his flagship store to NoHo was inspired by finding “the street less traveled” and making “a place where you could actually come in and hang out.”
“It’s very much like a New York loft,” Lim says fondly while looking out across the wide open space, glittered at the sides with pieces from his Fall 2024 ready-to-wear collection. “There is no place on Earth like New York City. It has the synergies of so many different people, different speeds, and inspirational moments. You just never know what’s around the corner.”
He is fresh off the heels of celebrating the 20th anniversary of his business at his SS25 runway show, a show he told Forbes was characterized by his “very signature, uptown/downtown, New York City aesthetic.” Although his latest collection remains true to his recurring “muse” – which he says is always New York City – this season he looked to reflect “the origins of joy.”
“[The collection] is getting back to all the elements and all the types of textiles that I love personally, that reflect my journey from growing up on the West Coast to now having a life on the East Coast,” he says. “It’s very disparate elements that are mixed together to create the spirit of living with joy.”
The collection is best seen in movement, detailed with kinetic fringe skirts and jackets, lacy puff
sleeves hugging gossamer like knee-length dresses, and signature to this show: the 3.1 Phillip Lim x Baileys Mini Market Tote.
We accept that the onus is on ourselves to participate in creating more joy.
Lim says the collaboration felt “kismet.” After working with Baileys’ parent company, Diageo, for almost three years, he feels like this partnership brings joy to life in the “synergies that come together when East meets West.”
Joy is somewhat of a departure for what Lim has been focused on in recent years. On March 10, 2020, he made an appearance on CNN to speak out against the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes and the prejudiced association of the COVID-19 virus with Chinese identity. Over the next few years, he continued to speak out against politicians who were dousing the flame that was fueling this hate, and even teamed up with the United Nations to promote global solidarity in combating anti-Asian hate.
After these recent years focused on battling racism, Lim feels refreshed by building a collection centered around joy. “We can’t just focus on being downtrodden and victimized, and injustice,” Lim says. “It’s good to acknowledge all that, but you gotta move on, because the best medicine against hate is joy.”
When I ask if there are any particular moments in his 20-year career that reflect the joyful spirit he sought to capture in his latest collection, Lim says he doesn’t look to “isolate moments.”
Instead, he says, “It’s more about the journey of accepting not only the great moments, but also the adverse moments, and overcoming that and getting to the next moment. I feel like this journey has been like a charm bracelet. Every moment is like adding a new charm. It’s a good reminder that it is about the journey and in the end, through it all, did you have a good time?”
It’s not lost on me that that good-naturedness is reflected in the 3.1 Phillip Lim x Baileys tote bag, the first transparent bag he’s ever created. “Perfect for picnics,” he says with a coy smile, another charm on the bracelet, if you will. But as he reflects more on this 20-year marker, he says he’s most overcome with feelings of gratitude.
“I think 20 years is a milestone, but it’s also just a chapter,” Lim says. “I’ve been very fortunate, and I remain grateful. But also I think that now is the time that we do not take anything for granted. We accept that the onus is on ourselves to participate in creating more joy, including being a part of this election cycle to create space for people to be invited into rooms and spaces and using your platforms and being vocal, and not just for the sake of being loud.”
Shahamat Uddin is a freelance writer largely covering queer and South Asian issues, but also related lifestyle topics and entertainment. His family hails from Sylhet, Bangladesh, but after growing up in Roswell, GA, he now lives in Brooklyn with his cat, Butter. Outside of PS, he also has bylines in Teen Vogue, Vogue, Vogue India, New York Magazine, Them, The Nation, and more.
