Love, Bonito’s Rachel Lim on motherhood and leading a fashion empire with intention

Lim credits the birth of her first child as the catalyst for this shift in mindset. “Personally, I’ve become more anchored … more attuned to life’s quieter, often overlooked moments. I feel everything more deeply now, and I lead from a more wholehearted place,” she reflects. Having experienced juggling the realities of home and work—and the desire to excel at both—Lim adds that she’s become a better champion for other women in the company, choosing to lead “with more empathy and listening with more presence”.

With motherhood also came a different approach in nurturing the brand. “Professionally, [becoming a mother] made me sharper and more courageous. I’ve learned to focus on what only I can do, and to let go of what I don’t need to carry,” Lim says. She began to trust her team more deeply, learning to delegate with confidence so she could be more intentional with her time.

This shift has bled into her creative and commercial instincts, too. While motherhood hasn’t influenced the brand’s design direction wholesale, it has broadened Lim’s empathy and renewed her consideration for Love, Bonito’s audience. “It helped me see our community with new eyes—multifaceted women navigating identity, change, and responsibility in every season of life,” she says. “And while we may create clothes, what we’re really doing at Love, Bonito is walking alongside her, celebrating her becoming, honouring her transitions, and reminding her that she’s not alone in the juggle.”

The juggle, unsurprisingly, is a recurring theme for many working mothers. Lim is refreshingly pragmatic about it. “I’ve learnt to stop chasing balance and started embracing rhythm,” she explains. “Some days flow with grace, others are beautifully chaotic.” Her mornings start with the school run and a brief pause over coffee to centre herself before meetings. She carves out time for creative work and makes a point to be home for bedtime. When things feel particularly full, journaling or an honest conversation with her husband helps her recalibrate.

That recalibration often involves saying no, a practice that Lim has grown more intentional about. “I’m slowly learning to let go of the version of myself that felt the need to be constantly ‘on’,” she says. “These days, I’m learning to say no with more intention: no to growth that doesn’t align, no to commitments that drain rather than nourish, no to expectations that were never really mine to begin with.”

It’s a skill modern women continue to refine, particularly in cultures where overachievement and constant availability are worn like badges of honour. Lim’s perspective offers an alternative: “A full calendar doesn’t always mean a full life. Sometimes, in the quiet of less, I find so much more.” She admits that as an entrepreneur, every “no” still requires courage. But Lim finds solace in the knowledge that each is a deliberate act of choosing what matters more: her children, her well-being, and sense of purpose.

Most importantly, Lim doesn’t go at it alone. Her husband is an active partner in parenting, and both sets of grandparents play steady, supportive roles. Her friends, her team, and her life coach form a network that allows her to show up without having to hold everything herself. “I’m learning that strength also means letting others in. I carry a lot, but I’m deeply supported too,” Lim expounds.

These days, Lim finds that the notion of success has evolved for her. “It feels much quieter,” Lim says. “It’s the peace that comes from living in alignment, the quiet joy of doing work that uplifts others, and the tenderness of coming home to little arms wrapped around my legs.”

Although she’s a titan of Singapore’s fashion industry, Lim isn’t chasing the prospect of having it all. Instead, she’s choosing to hold with care and clarity what matters most. “I hope my children will one day see that their mama didn’t always get it right,” she muses, “but she tried her best, loved deeply, and kept showing up, even when it was hard.” In that honesty lies Lim’s strength—not in the perfection of balance, but in the rhythm she’s chosen that is grounded, intentional and led by love.

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