Mother-of-four Kimora Lee Simmons has a lot of love for what seems like a new addition to her roost.
Celebrating the 1-year anniversary of her eponymous brick and mortar boutique on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, Calif. on Thursday, the supermodel told Footwear News that she feels like a proud parent. “It’s like my baby because other lines have been Kimora by something else,” the model-mogul-mom said.
Previously, Simmons served as the creative director of Baby Phat, and in 2011 was the creative director and president of JustFab before bowing away from her duties in May last year.
One month later, she opened doors at Kimora Lee Simmons — the first high-end shop under her own label.
“There’s a lot involved,” she admitted, speaking on the odds and ends of running the luxury line, which features ready-to-wear dresses, handbags and novelty items, available online and in-store.
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Still, there’s one other thing she would like to add to her already-full plate as a designer and boss lady.
“I’m a shoe girl,” Simmons said, adding that she’s a fan of heels and would love to add a footwear line to her brand.
“I like Louboutins, Giuseppe Zanotti, but no platforms and nothing above four inches — I’m tall,” the six-foot-tall stunner explained of her style preferences.
And if there’s silhouette she wants that a label has not yet produced, Simmons only has to plant the seed — like the time she suggested to Manolo Blahnik that he should reimagine a Timberland-like bootie.
Blahnik’s 2002 suede and leather lace-up ankle boot-heels also found fans in Beyonce, who rocked them in her “Bonnie & Cylde” music video, and that same year Jennifer Lopez donned the heels in “Jenny From the Block.”
Featuring gunmetal rings, bicolor laces, suede with leather trim and a pointed toe silhouette, the shoes, produced in other colors and materials, retailed for $1,175 and were reissued in 2012.
“I have every version,” she said of the heels, adding that she has a collection of shoes from as early as her teenage years. “I started modeling at 13, so my first pair is Chanel ballet flats.”
At the celebration, Simmons was feted by members of the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce, who presented her with a certificate and joined her in cutting a ribbon at the entrance, as well as “Transparent” actress Emily Robinson, actors Davi Santosgo, Rich Rose, Malek Hanna, model Kiara Belen and reality star Bobby Trendy.
