Carol Lim and Humberto Leon are the co-founders of Opening Ceremony, a retail destination and cult fashion brand founded in 2002, and were the co-creative directors of French fashion house KENZO from 2011 to 2019.
Lim and Leon met during their studies at University of California, Berkeley, where Lim graduated with a B.A. in Economics, and Leon with a B.A. in Art Practice and American Studies.
Inspired by their world travels together, the duo left their jobs in the corporate fashion sector to start Opening Ceremony in 2002. The brand, colloquially known as OC, has grown from its first flagship store on Howard Street in New York into a global brand with stores in Los Angeles and Tokyo. Opening Ceremony is renowned for scouting emerging fashion talent from around the world and supporting them alongside well established designers.
Each year, OC produces two seasonal collections of ready-to-wear and accessories, dressing notables such as Beyoncé, Rihanna, Drake, Cate Blanchett, Justin Bieber, and members of the Obama family. Over the past two decades, OC has also collaborated with brands, including Vans, Google, Intel, Disney, Coach, Pendleton, Levi’s, Rodarte, Apple, and Maison Martin Margiela, and creatives, including Spike Jonze, The Linda Lindas, Yoko Ono, Solange, Beastie Boys, Beyonce, Chloë Sevigny, Whoopi Goldberg, Justin Peck, and Syd Mead. OC was elected by Fast Company as one of “The World’s Most Innovative Companies” in 2011 and received the prestigious Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for Fashion Design in 2016.
In July 2011, French luxury group LVMH appointed Lim and Leon as a co-creative director of KENZO, a storied Parisian fashion house founded in 1969 by Kenzo Takada. During his tenure at KENZO, the brand successfully re-launched as the world’s source for vibrant, forward-thinking contemporary fashion. Lim & Leon’s vision of “culture first” has led to musical collaborations with the XX, MIA, Solange, Air, Lauren Hill, Blood Orange, Vampire Weekend, Mike D (of Beastie Boys), Disclosure, Spiritualized, and more, on original scores for his historic shows at KENZO. Through shows, advertising, image, film, and special partnerships with innovators that include Jean-Paul Goude, TOILETPAPER, Natasha Lyonne, Karen O, Gregg Araki, Kahlil Joseph, and Carrie Brownstein, KENZO’s reach expanded far beyond fashion and into popular culture.
In 2016, Lim and Leon oversaw the release of KENZO’s first fragrance, KENZOWORLD, which was launched with an internet-breaking film directed by Spike Jonze and starring Margaret Qualley. In November 2016, KENZO and H&M collaborated on a highly -coveted collection that sold out instantly in stores around the globe. In 2017, KENZO was named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, attributed to Leon & Lim’s multi-pronged approach to collaboration and advertising. In 2018, Leon wrote and directed his first film, “The Everything,” which served as KENZO’s Fall/Winter 2018 campaign film. Lim and Leon were judges for the LVMH Fashion Fund, advisors to the Parsons School for Design, and members of the selection jury for the ANDAM Fashion Award. In 2017, Lim and Leon were honored by New York nonprofit arts organization Creative Time at their annual gala. Lim and Leon have also been honored with the President’s Award for Excellence in Retail Innovation from the Academy of Art in San Francisco; Apex for Youth’s Inspiration Award; The Daily Front Row “Fashion Innovators” Award; The Fashion Group International’s 2018 Fashion Star Award.
In 2020, Leon opened his first restaurant with mother Wendy Leon, sister Ricardina Leon, and brother-in-law John Liu, in Eagle Rock, California. Inspired by their diverse heritage and deep-seated love for home cooking, CHIFA features a multi-cultural menu of traditional Cantonese, Peruvian, and Taiwanese recipes, many refreshed with a modern twist. As its visual director, Leon designed the restaurant’s custom interiors and furniture, which were featured in The Architectural Digest. At the end of its inaugural year, CHIFA received the prestigious Bib Gourmand Award by the MICHELIN Guide and earned a coveted spot on Condé Nast’s “The Best New Restaurants in the World” and the Los Angeles Times “101 Best Restaurants” lists for 2021. To critical acclaim Leon designed opened his second Arroz & Fun in Lincoln Heights, California. The restaurants have been featured in numerous publications including the Los Angeles Times, Eater, Bon Appetit.
Since 2020, Lim has consulted and advised for a number of brands including SK-II, Peter Do and Camper. In 2023, she worked with Jenny Han and Netflix on product collaborations for the show XO, Kitty.