A chat with Carol Lim of Opening Ceremony on life after Kenzo and how she packed for Singapore

From left to right: Humberto Leon, Carol Lim and Esu Lee. Photo: Martell

The cool kids behind Opening Ceremony are the sort who have you feeling torn between wanting to be them, and wanting to be with them. Ever since the inception of the US-based street label in 2002, Carol Lim and Humberto Leon have transformed their business from a hole-in-the-wall shop front to a booming multi-label business spanning three cities (New York, Los Angeles and Tokyo). Basing their creations off their jet-setting adventures, you could say that the dynamic duo are also one of fashion’s OG wanderlusters.

One of their most recent adventures was in Singapore – partnering with Maison Martell for the second episode of Martell Home Live: A Taste of Home. Opening Ceremony was invited on the live talk show, alongside other “audacious” personalities such as Claire Jedrek, Ghetto Gastro, Esu Lee and Arthur Bray to discuss issues on culture and gastronomy. 

Lim and Leon are no strangers to collaborations, having worked with the likes of Rodarte, Martin Maison Margiela and Spike Jonze. And she reveals that the secret to happy collabs simply lies in connecting with brands and creatives on a personal level. “When it’s done like that, I think what is created will be more powerful. It has to make sense, and only then can you create something super incredible and dynamic.”      

Photo: Martell

In the case of Martell, the particular episode’s focus on travel, food and “East-meets-West” was what drew Opening Ceremony in. “To be honest, we wouldn’t have done it if it didn’t feel like we could actually talk about it in a really authentic manner. So, it felt very natural to work with them,” says Lim.

During their time on our sunny island, we caught up with Carol Lim to find out what she has been up to since ending her eight-year stint as co-creative director at Kenzo in June this year, and what keeps her hustling. 

Photo: Showbit

What are some exciting things you’ve been up to since parting ways with Kenzo?

We’ve been super busy. We’ve always been continuing to progress and push the envelope with Opening Ceremony. So, now we’re working on a ton of different projects, it gives us more time to travel. And we’ve got a lot of different things in the works. It’s great to be able to work on projects like this that we’re passionate about.

For your S/S ’20 collection, why were you inspired by Mexico?

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A post shared by Opening Ceremony (@openingceremony) on Dec 18, 2019 at 3:53pm PST

Every year at the Opening Ceremony, we feature a country – and it really stems from Humberto’s and my love for travel. 

The whole idea of Opening Ceremony came from a trip we took to Hong Kong. From the discovery of young designers, artists and creative people on that trip, we really wanted to figure out a way to incorporate that into our concept and our job. So for us, featuring different countries every year is related to what we do. 

In light of what’s been happening politically in the US, we always think about using our platform to talk about things that are important to us, but from a positive context. So, we chose to feature Mexico, and went down and met an incredible group of creative people who are designing clothing, jewellery, accessories and food – that kind of starts a dialogue on how we get inspired to design the collection. So, that was a mix of inspiration for us. 

How do you pack light and still be fashionable? How did you pack for Singapore? 

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A post shared by Carol Lim (@carollim) on Dec 10, 2019 at 11:22am PST

If you don’t have an evening event, I would just pack one pair of shoes. If you like to exercise, then obviously sneakers are a big trend at the moment. That’s going to save the space. A pro tip: carry-on only, even up till five days,. Think about clothing you can transition. 

Singapore is easier because it’s warm, so you can leave the bulk out. But I think having separates – things that you can mix and match throughout your trip – is the way to go. I also like a lot of Issey Miyake so that packs down really tight. To be honest, I think it’s fun to leave room to also buy when you’re visiting a country. 

So, if you’re not tied to a formal event, take the basics that you need. And find something along the way – that leaves room for you to add to your wardrobe as you go along. It doesn’t have to be high-end, luxury brands. Being in Singapore, I’m especially excited to go to Chinatown and Arab Street. Find things that feel indicative of what you can find in Singapore and incorporate that in your wardrobe. 

Describe your personal style. 

Easy, classic with a twist, undefinable.

But how do you remain true to your personal style while incorporating trends?

It’s really about how I feel in that particular moment or that particular stage. I am adventurous, and open to colors, prints and patterns. So often it’s really about my mood, and often I will buy things based on emotion. Even if I don’t wear it immediately, I like to pull things in. I don’t necessarily follow trends per se, but I think about things that resonate. When I go back to my wardrobe and find things that I bought years ago, I get really excited to incorporate them in my outfits. 

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A post shared by Carol Lim (@carollim) on Oct 16, 2019 at 7:04pm PDT

We're going into the 'top threes'. First off, wardrobe essentials. 

Places to shop. 

Places to wine and dine, anywhere in the world. 

We have to ask, how do you like your Martell served? 

Photo: Martell

I like mine neat, just in its pure form. Just sipping it and tasting the flavor is my preferred way. But I’m also open to see how it’s used in cocktails because I think that’s super interesting. And part of what I’m excited about while developing this relationship is to see it in different contexts.

ALSO READ: CATCH CLAIRE JEDREK, JUDY JOO AND ESU LEE ON MARTELL HOME LIVE EPISODE 02