The man with the urban plan

>> Phat Farm's millionaire CEO Russell Simmons talks about the clothing business

by SCOTT C

As I walked down Ste-Catherine on my way to the grand opening of the Phat Farm boutique last Tuesday, I noticed all kinds of people, both young and old, dipped to the gills in the finest wears. It occurred to me that I wasn't the only one on my way to meet music and fashion mogul Russell Simmons at the only Canadian chapter of his internationally successful creation.

Simmons became world famous as the man responsible for DefJam Records (Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Public Enemy, Run DMC). He jumped into the fashion world with Phat Farm in 1992, introducing urban-culture-inspired sportswear, outerwear, activewear, underwear, loungewear, footwear, lingerie, fragrances and accessories. When he wasn't talking on his cell, being tapped, hustled, ogled, photographed or yelled at, I was able to a have an interesting chat with this self-made millionaire.

Mirror: So there's no Phat Farm in Toronto?

Russell Simmons: Nope. No store in Toronto. This is the only Canadian store. I'm happy to be here in Montreal. I've been workin' real hard on a bunch of stuff, going to work everyday to my office in New York and hadn't yet seen this store. It's kinda hot to be here because as you can see, they've done a great job.

M: What are the similarities between heading up a clothing label and a record label?

RS: It's all the same. Clothing, my advertising agency, records--it's all the same. It's all the same business of culture.

M: So all these things just seem to overlap for you?

RS: It's all about people. Even clothing is somewhat about entertainment, about attitude and knowing people. Gettin' a feel of what's hot for people, y'know? I feel comfortable with the transitions that I've made, but the important thing about all of the companies is that you have smart and talented people around you. In every business there's somebody smarter than me and one of the greatest things about anything I've done has been watching these talented people grow after I've found them.

M: In terms of the actual line, how involved are you?

RS: Every colour of every button (laughs), every pair of underwear, every zipper-pull, I approve. See those boots right there? (pointing to boots on the shelf) Somebody showed me those boots and convinced me they were okay.

M: I don't like 'em.

RS: Right! I didn't like 'em that much either when I saw the first pair. Then when they went out they were like, "They're selling in Canada! I swear to god," and I was like "Yo them shits are wack!" But I let them do it, because they said they were gonna be hot. Now those shoes over there, the suede ones with the rubber turned up toe? I like them. And if I had a shoe that was gonna blow out, I'd say these would be the ones. But I approve everything. Sometimes I let things go, but a lot of the things that really end up doing well are things that I make. Things that I've thought about from conception to finish, and designed. I work with a design team of six people on everything that they do. It's a big collection. My wife does the lingerie and the jeans.

M: From the outset, were you taken seriously by the fashion world based on your other accomplishments, or did you have to prove yourself?

RS: Hell no, we weren't taken seriously! Hell no. First of all, there was nobody black at all. Period. There was Karl Kani, and there's nothing wrong with Karl, but he was young then. I was at Magic Convention where all the fashion people go with thousands of booths--nobody black. Now, (laughs) it's like a hip hop convention, I swear to god. I had to go to Hong Kong, Lithuania, Peru and make the clothes. I didn't have partners. Nobody wanted to be my partner, so I had to pave the way a little bit. Manufacturers didn't need me to design back then, but they look to us now, because they can't beat us. They hire people to design urban stuff so they can keep up. I'm not talking about black people either. I'm talking about cool people. The hip hop community is 80 per cent non-black, made up of people with the same cultural initiative. It's an honest take on young people, and even though I'm older, I feel like these are my peeps, and these are the clothes that I'm wearing on my own backside. lll

Phat Farm, 484 Ste-Catherine W., 861-6565

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