Top Ten: Carol Lim

Ever wondered what Carol Lim, the co-creative director of Kenzo, co-founder of Opening Ceremony and all-round queen of cool, likes? What smells, what tastes, what books? What she hates? Well, think of this as your Carol cheat sheet. Rip it out and keep it in your pocket. Pull it out when struck with taste dilemmas and wondering, “What would Carol do?” Now you’ll know.

Listen up. You love music as much as we do. Name 10 great tunes on your iPod now.

1. Hey Moon by John Maus
2. Family Tree by TV on the Radio
3. Seasons by Future Islands
4. Hold On, We’re Going Home by Drake
5. Baby Can I Hold You by Tracy Chapman
6. God Only Knows by The Beach Boys
7. Gymnopédie No 1 by Erik Satie
8. Win by The Aikiu
9. Cherry Coloured Funk by Cocteau Twins
10. Energy Flow by Ryuichi Sakamoto

We love TV/film/theatre. What are your 10 most fabulous things to watch?

1. House of Cards
2. Homeland
3. Some Kind of Wonderful
4. Chef’s Table
5. Bloodline
6. Transparent
7. Louis CK
8. Made in Chelsea
9. Twin Peaks
10. The Simpsons

What would we do without them? What are your 10 lovely words? Food, sex and money are ours.

1. Amazing!
2. Cute
3. OMG
4. Stop it
5. Really?
6. No…
7. Yes!
8. Shocking
9. Okay!
10. Love

Yum yum. What do you like to eat? What tastes do you really savour? What dishes, desserts, savouries, sweets?

1. Kimchi
2. Dumplings
3. Ice cream
4. Soba
5. Oxtail soup
6. Sashimi, especially toro
7. Anything egg
8. Cheddar cheese
9. French fries
10. Anything from Blue Hill

L.O.V.E. What 10 things do you LOVE? We work in fashion, remember, we love everything…

1. Family
2. Time with friends
3. Anything with my daughters
4. Eating something delicious
5. Dancing to good music
6. Watching something that moves me to tears
7. Travelling somewhere new
8. Shopping
9. Swimming
10. Riding a bike

H.A.T.E. What 10 things do you HATE? We work in fashion, remember, we hate everything…

1. Negativity
2. Prejudice
3. Being unkind
4. Paper cuts
5. Busted nails
6. Airplane food (except on the Asian airlines, such as JAL and Korean Air)
7. Uncomfortable shoes
8. Tight rooms with no air circulation
9.  Being hungry
10. Violence against children

Pooh! What 10 smells are rocking your nasal world? Nothing rude now. Well, you can if you want…

1. The smell of my daughters
2. The smell of BBQs
3. Summer fruit, especially peaches
4. Always coffee
5. Garlic
6. Santa Maria Novella potpourri
7. Byredo Gypsy Water Hair Perfume
8. Le Labo Bergamote Eau de Parfum
9. Truffles
10. The sea

Un-put-downable! What 10 reads couldn’t you live without? 10 magazine (of course).

1. 10 magazine, of course!
2. The World of Interiors
3. The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
4. Light Years by James Salter
5. The New Yorker
6. The Economist
7. The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
8. Shiro Kuramata
9. Dune by Frank Herbert
10. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Such inspiration! Who are your 10 heroes? Superman, Mother Teresa, God?

1. Mom
2. Dad
3. My husband
4. Humberto Leon
5. Jane Goodall
6. David Attenborough
7. David Lynch
8. Alice Waters
9. Single and low-income mothers or fathers
10. Malala Yousafzai

Here, there, everywhere. Where are your 10 favourite places? What bus stop, what view, what beach?

1. Big Sur, California
2. Hoshinoya Karuizawa Onsen in Nagano, Japan
3. Dragon Hill Spa, Seoul
4. Lake Oscawana, New York State
5. Sayulita, Mexico
6. Marrakech, Morocco
7. Bolinas, California
8. Richmond Park, London
9. Big Island Volcano, Hawaii
10. In bed with my daughters and husband

Taken from Issue 55 of 10 Magazine, What’s New Pussycat, on newsstands now…

Text by Carol Lim
Photographer: Sebastien Kim

www.kenzo.com