Carol Lim


Carol Lim is an American fashion designer, retailer and creative director, who works in partnership with Humberto Leon.
She and Leon founded the fashion retailer Opening Ceremony in 2002 in Lower Manhattan. Further stores followed in New York City, as well as in Los Angeles and Tokyo. An Opening Ceremony store opened in 2012 in London, coinciding with the Olympics.
In 2011, Lim and Leon were announced as creative directors of the French high fashion brand Kenzo, which was founded in 1970 and is part of the LVMH luxury goods conglomerate.

Early life

Carol Lim is the daughter of Korean parents. Born and raised in the Los Angeles suburbs, she met Humberto Leon at University of California, Berkeley in 1993. After graduating with a degree in economics in 1997, Lim worked in the corporate sphere, including a spell with Deloitte, before moving to New York and becoming a merchandise planner for Bally.

Career

At age 25, Lim and Leon went on a trip to Hong Kong, where they were inspired to open a store. Its concept was to bring brands such as Havaianas and Topshop to the United States and to feature then-emerging American fashion brands such as Proenza Schouler, Alexander Wang, and Rodarte. They went to the New York State Small Business Development Center at SUNY for assistance in refining their business plan and obtaining a business loan, and each contributed $10,000 of their own money towards Opening Ceremony.
Opening Ceremony features a rotating assortment of brands from different designers and is known for its collaborations with brands and personalities such as Pendleton, Levi's, Timberland, Keds, Robert Clergerie, Chloë Sevigny, and Spike Jonze. The stores also feature Opening Ceremony's eponymous brand.
In July 2011, Kenzo parent company LVMH announced the appointment of Lim as co-creative director of the brand. Leon and Lim debuted their collection in 2012: It was inspired by upstate New York and the painter Ellsworth Kelly.
With Leon, Lim is a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America and an advisor at Parsons School of Design in Manhattan. In 2010, they won the President's Award for Excellence in Retail Innovation from The Academy of Art in San Francisco.

Personal life

Lim is married to British filmmaker Matthew Killip; the couple have two daughters.