Kimora Lee Simmons' Best Red Carpet Fashions Prove She's Always Lived in the Fab Lane

By Brett M Malec Dec 01, 2025 2:00 PM
| Updated Dec 01, 2025 2:47 PM
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Watch: Kimora Lee Simmons Reveals Why She Really Returned to Reality TV

Don't call it a comeback, because Kimora Lee Simmons has always been this fierce.

After a 15-year hiatus, the model-turned-mogul is finally returning to TV on E!'s new reality series Kimora: Back in the Fab Lane—and she's reminding fans who rules the runway.

The Baby Phat founder first made her name for herself on the catwalk at the ripe age of 13 when late Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld hand-picked the St. Louis native to be his muse.

"Karl transformed me," Kimora reflected during a 2019 interview with Teen Vogue. "He made me who I am today. As a young teenager he pulled me out of a small town in the Midwest and gave me wings to fly. Every other casting agent told me I was ugly and that I didn’t have what it took to succeed in modeling. Karl saw things in a radically different way than other designers who weren’t willing to risk putting a multi-ethnic girl on the Parisian runway."

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"That happened 30+ years ago," the 50-year-old concluded, "and the need for inclusivity in fashion is still a part of the conversation today."

After breaking onto the scene in the early '90s, Kimora quickly became known as a fashion icon and modeled the runways for prestigious fashion houses like Fendi, Yves Saint Laurent and Valentino, in addition to gracing the covers A-list magazines including Vogue and Elle.

And decades later, the mother of five still takes her job as a style icon very seriously.

Araya Doheny/Getty Images for Gold House

As she notes in the premieres of Kimora: Back in the Fab Lane (premiering Dec. 2), "I'm a businesswoman, but being a celebrity and being a fashion icon is also my job and I love it. I love that my kids come with me."

That's right, it's no shocker that Kimora's eldest children, daughters Ming, 25, and Aoki, 23, have followed in her fashionable footsteps with their own modeling careers, which fans can follow when the famous family makes their reality TV return. (Kimora is also mom to Kenzo, 16, Gary, 16, and Wolfe, 10.)

Keep reading to look back at Kimora's most iconic red carpet fashion moments over the past few decades in celebration of Kimora: Back in the Fab Lane, premiering Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 10 p.m. on E!.

2001

Kimora Lee Simmons attends the Marc Jacobs fashion show at Pier 54 in New York City. 

2001

The supermodel shows off her long legs in a mini dress at Emanuel Ungaro 35th anniversary fashion party extravaganza.

2002

Like mother, like daughter. Kimora and Ming match in patterned looks at mom's Baby Phat Fall 2002 fashion show during the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.

2003

Kimora shows some skin in a red-hot look at the 2003 Tony Awards.

2003

Kimora, Ming and Aoki hit the runway during Baby Phat's 2003 show.

2004

The mogul flaunts her curves in a silver gown at the 35th Annual NAACP Image Awards in Hollywood.

2004

For the Martha Graham Dance Company Opening Night Gala, Kimora donned a stunning ombre dress.

2004

Orange you glad Kimora rocked this number for the Urban Music Festival 2004.

2006

Kimora dazzles in a feathered number at the Disco and Diamon cancer research gala in NYC.

2006

We're saying oui oui to this look at AmfAR's Cinema Against AIDS Benefit in Cannes, France.

2006

The fashionista attended Dolce & Gabbana's bash in, what else, Dolce & Gabbana.

2022

Kimora opted for a black, structural gown for the 2022 amfAR Gala Los Angeles.

2023

Kimora was a golden goddess during the 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture in New Orleans.

2023

The star is pretty in pink for the HollyRod 2023 DesignCare Gala in L.A.

2025

The trio make one fashionable family at the Gold House 4th Annual Gold Gala in Los Angeles.

2025

Kimora turns heads in a glittering gold gown at The 2025 CFDA Fashion Awards in NYC.

Watch new episodes of Kimora: Back in the Fab Lane Tuesdays at 10 p.m., only on E!