Kimora Lee Reveals Tyra Banks Warned Her Against Russell Simmons: 'Thought She Was Hating'

From key trends to fundamental details, understand everything about Kimora Lee Reveals Tyra Banks Warned Her Against Russell Simmons: 'Thought She Was Hating' in our latest feature.

The European fashion circuit of the early 1990s was intoxicating, fast, and largely unregulated. Kimora Lee had vaulted from Missouri into the highest tiers of haute couture before finishing high school. When Russell Simmons arrived backstage in Paris, he brought the swagger and capital of the burgeoning American hip-hop explosion. The age gap between them was nearly two decades. Kimora was legally a child; Simmons was an established industry titan accustomed to getting what he wanted.

Backstage environments during Paris Fashion Week offered little formal oversight. Chaperones were virtually nonexistent for teenage runway talent, leaving adolescent girls to navigate wealthy, influential men who treated fashion weeks as private playgrounds. Simmons courted the teenager aggressively, sending bouquets of flowers and orchestrating grand public gestures. While the adult fashion press framed the romance as an edgy fairy tale, Banks, who was two years older and already seasoned by the business, recognized the precarious dynamics at play.