Debuted at New York Fashion Week in 2005, 3.1 Phillip Lim was born from a friendship between founders Phillip Lim and Wen Zhou, whose partnership remains one of the most enduring and successful in American fashion.
Both 31 years of age at its inception, the designer and entrepreneur were pioneers in the modern designer space, helping to define a new vocabulary of modern luxury. The brand’s offerings have since expanded to include womenswear, menswear, accessories, and footwear, with a global retail network in USA, Thailand, Japan, China as well as independent boutiques worldwide.
In 2025, the brand entered a new chapter with the appointment of Michelle Rhee as Head of Design, bringing a renewed creative perspective while honoring the house’s established codes and ethos.
3.1 Phillip Lim’s vision of cool, easy, chic wardrobe essentials for today’s global citizen has become synonymous with understated modern luxury, while reflecting the brand’s core values. A commitment to social responsibility and sustainability continues to shape the brand narrative, serving as both a point of connection with its community and a means of creating lasting, positive impact across the industry.
Wen Zhou
Wen Zhou serves as President and CEO of 3.1 Phillip Lim, the company she co-founded with Phillip Lim in 2005. In less than five years, the indie label grew to global force status and today remains a beacon of innovative fashion and a harbinger for positive change. Zhou spent her childhood in Ningbo, China, and arrived in New York City at 12, settling with her family in Chinatown. She spoke no English but possessed an indomitable spirit, a love of fashion, and an entrepreneurial drive to succeed, all of which informed her future success as a business leader and entrepreneur.
By age 26, she founded two companies; one a fabric-selling import/export business and another an offshore clothing production house. Later, through a fateful meeting in Paris, Zhou met Phillip Lim, who was himself prepared for his next design adventure. The two formed a partnership and, in the Fall of 2005, launched 3.1 Phillip Lim. They were both 31 years old at the time.
After 18 years, their partnership remains among American fashion’s most fruitful and successful. The company’s vision to create an elevated and chic wardrobe for today’s global citizen has become synonymous with understated modern luxury. The brand’s and founders’ core values are reflected in all aspects of the business, including a commitment to social causes, community, and sustainability.
As President and CEO, Zhou has grown 3.1 Phillip Lim into an international fashion brand offering womenswear, menswear, footwear, and accessories. Recognized for her leadership and business acumen, Zhou regularly appears in such publications as The Business of Fashion, WWD, Forbes, and Vogue. She was recently named one of the “Top 60 Most Influential Chinese-Americans” by Forbes China, acknowledging her as an iconic leader and business owner globally.
She juggles the role of CEO, business partner, and friend with her most important job – being a mother to her two children, Ming and Zen.
