Carol Lim is one of the co-founders of Opening Ceremony, a retail destination and cult fashion brand founded in 2002 with Humberto Leon, and was a co-creative director 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. Economics as well as a general course degree from the London School of Economics.

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. OC is renowned for scouting emerging fashion talent from around the world and supporting them alongside well-established designers.  

OC's collections have been worn by 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.  They were honored by Creative Time in 2017 and in 2018 was Fashion Group International’s Fashion Star.  Other awards include the President’s Award for Excellence in Retail Innovation from the Academy of Art in San Francisco; The Daily Front Row “Fashion Innovators” Award; and Apex for Youth’s Inspiration Award and many more. 

In July 2011, French luxury group LVMH appointed Lim and Leon as co-creative directors of KENZO, a storied Parisian fashion house founded in 1969 by Kenzo Takada. During her 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, St Etienne and more, on original scores for her 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 Lim & Leon’s multi-pronged approach to collaboration and advertising. 

Lim was a judge for the LVMH Fashion Fund for its first 5 years, advisor to the Parsons School for Design, and a member of the selection jury for the ANDAM Fashion Award and a member of the Council for Fashion Designers of America.

In 2020, OC was sold to New Guards Group, which is owned by Farfetch. She continues to work in fashion and culture and has worked with brands such as SK-II, Peter Do, Camper, Amazon and more.

Lim also spends her time on the Creative Council for Center for Reproductive Rights as well as other various AAPI organizations.  She lives in Los Angeles with her family.