Phillip Lim ( born September 16 , 1973 as Pheng Lim ) is an American fashion designer of Chinese descent whose parents immigrated to America from Thailand during the Cambodian genocide . Lim co-founded and worked at the Los Angeles-based fashion label Development from 2000 to 2004 . In the fall of 2005 , he co-founded 3.1 Phillip Lim with friend and business partner Wen Zhou , becoming the company 's creative director . Lim has garnered both critical and commercial success with his eponymous line . The Council of Fashion Designers of America awarded Lim the 2007 award for Emerging Talent in Womenswear for his work at 3.1 Phillip Lim . In 2012 , he was awarded the Council 's Swarovski award for Menswear
Cambodian genocide
Cambodian genocide
Phillip Lim