Since launching his eponymous collection in New York ten years ago, Phillip Lim has become the master of streamlined contemporary style. As Lim pays Hong Kong a visit, we ‘stop and smell and the flowers’ with his inner circle of friends.

Words by Harriet Quick

After setting up the label Development in L.A, Lim met Wen Zhou, his main fabric supplier and the duo hit it off. With fire-starter energy and the dedication of a small circle, the 3.1 Phillip Lim label made its debut and quickly made an impression for its considered, modern and effortless aesthetic. Each season, the collection scaled with soft tailoring, stand out knits, flattering trousers and terrific coats emerging as stars.

The world’s most in-demand editors, stylists and models soon became part of Lim’s inimitably elegant world. We asked three insiders to muse on friendship, flowers and what makes Lim such a modern design icon.