Simon Miller (Q9148)
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Simon Miller is a fashion house from FMD.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Simon Miller |
Simon Miller is a fashion house from FMD. |
Statements
Simon Miller creative director Chelsea Hansford follows the style school of thought that animal prints aren’t a statement but a neutral. So in the brand’s resort collection, cheetah and zebra designs are her version of a little black dress: “They run wild in this collection,” Hansford said from Los Angeles. Indeed, everything from suits, dresses, coats, to shoes come in animalistic form . . . a clear visible thread running throughout it all.Yet despite the dominant presence, wild beasts weren’t themaininspiration for this collection, which Hansford calls “Gala.” The name is a double entendre. Not only are a lot of the pieces formal wear that you could wear to a black tie event, but “Gala” was also the name of Salvador Dali’s wife. Surrealist imagery, said Hansford, was a major pinpoint on her moodboard.It’s seen most obviously in a lip-shaped bag and a lip-print dress, a nod to the Mae West Lips sofa made by Dali in 1937. Hansford also said she took metallic color cues from Dali’s melting clocks. A black evening gown is accented with a gold bow and matching gloves. Another dress comes in shimmering silver sequins with a matching coat. (The latter is a favorite color of the Simon Miller customer: “In accessories we sell silver probably better than we sell black,” she said.) They’re designs not for the wallflower, but the spotlight seeker—Hansford pointed to the dresses at the famous Rothschild surrealist ball, which embraced “lavishness and drama.”It’s not all evening wear: there’s some pieces that would fare better in day rather than at night, like striped linen dresses and button downs. Yet as Hansford explained, basic staples were not the point. “We aren’t a quiet luxury brand—we are, as I say, aplayfulluxury brand.”
28 October 2024
Simon Miller is continuing its world tour. Following trips to theScottish Highlandsand theTuscan countryside, Chelsea Hansford found inspiration for her pre-fall 2024 collection in Tangier, Morocco. While her locales of choice are always awash with natural beauty, Hansford routinely takes interest in a place’s architecture. “I imagined this woman in our collection lounging in the beautiful kind of plant-filled arched doorways,” she said. This season, she leaned into colors and shapes endemic to the African port city, while staying true to the brand’s aesthetic.The balancing act seems to pay off. Hansford is acutely aware of who the Simon Miller customer is and what they want. “It's designed for the working creative,” she said. Thus, much of the see-now, buy-now collection is focused on transitional wear, with several tunics and matching pants available. The most adventurous of the bunch is a striped minidress-length vest over matching pants—a nod to the hand-painted Tangier walls. “You can wear it over the slacks to the office and still be bold and playful and exciting,” she said. “But then you can take the pants off in the evening, and throw on a heel.”Hansford’s work is at its best when she leans into her innate sense of playfulness. A diaphanous mesh slip dress featuring (strategically placed) green hand-crocheted flowers is a particular highlight, as is a knit bodycon dress with a spiral of fringe encircling the wearer’s body. Some of the pieces—particularly the accessories—seem to be offering takes on existing items, when energy could be better spent elsewhere. While bejeweled mesh, crocheted, and intrecciato shoes may appeal to working creatives, chances are they’ve already bought them elsewhere. Still, we look forward to seeing where in the world Simon Miller will go next.
25 April 2024
For a moment last year, the internet was overrun by a trend dubbed “tomato girl summer.” Cosplaying an Italian vacation warranted an entire style of dress filled with cotton poplin, tomato red, gingham, and raffia. Chelsea Hansford, the creative director and CEO of Simon Miller, followed similar inspiration for her spring 2024 collection, which she called In the Kitchen. (When asked about the tomato girl trend, Hansford said, “Is that coming up? I haven’t heard of that.”) The campaign, starring Angela Lindvall, was deeply narrative driven. “I imagined this Tuscan estate, where she reaped her land to cook this extravagant meal,” Hansford said. Even if haunted by the ghosts of microtrends past, the Simon Miller ethos still fit right into a carefree Italian summer, from the gingham tunic over matching pants to the fringed-hemmed knit dress in bright colors and neutrals alike.Hansford is operating on a see-now-buy-now schedule, making her acutely aware of her funky coastal customers’ upcoming activities—though it does deviate a bit from the original brief. “We have a big festival season business, especially here in L.A.,” she said. “We do a drop exclusively for that.” It’s a wise business move: While the typical Simon Miller customer is an elder millennial, festival season opens the brand up to a younger demographic. Hence the mesh shibori T-shirts that would belong more on the Coachella fairgrounds than in a Tuscan kitchen.Simon Miller is at its best when it stays close to its DNA, even when building off existing pieces from past seasons. The cotton poplin shirtdress with the open-back panel and waist-cinching tie added variety to a classic closet staple, as did the crocheted minidress, which smartly played off the label’s best-selling Beep Beep dress. Hansford clearly has a very strong sense of brand identity, even when she chooses to divert from her creative vision to serve it.
17 February 2024
Ah the Scottish highlands: the land of moody gray skies, seaside cliffs, and strong whiskey. Not exactly where you’d expect Chelsea Hansford of Simon Miller to be drawing inspiration for resort, but nonetheless this collection was full of tartan plaids, gold accents, vivid greens, and, as she calls them “happy sheep.” Hansford wasn’t looking at the stereotype of Scotland, but rather what she considers the “quirkiness” of the landscape. She calls out places where palm trees grow in the country (yes, really). “I got really into it,” she says.Ease has been a priority for Simon Miller for the past few seasons, and that’s certainly true here in the turtlenecks, slip-on knit dresses, and matching separates in cobalt and kelly green. The holidays call for one of the label’s popular Beep Beep dresses, a series of round discs stitched together, and evolving into a kind of oversized fringe. This season it comes in black, gold, metallic lavender, and, naturally, green. Another classic Simon Miller item, the Bubble clog, has been reimagined in a few shades of plaid. Scottish palm trees aside, this definitely has a lot of Hansford’s Los Angeles DNA in it—more Bel Air than Balmoral.
26 October 2023
Maybe it’s because designer Chelsea Hansford hails from California, or because of the kooky accessories that have become hallmarks of the brand, but Simon Miller tends to have a youthful, party girl vibe. Who else would dare resort 2023’s wavy zebra print sequin bustier, or last fall’s Abominable Snowman-core? Fall 2023, however, feels more adult and relaxed. Shot in a mid-century modern home, each outfit looks like something a starlet would wear for herArchitectural Digesthome tour. In fact, the inspiration for the season came from Hansford’s love of modern furniture design. The theme is “bubble world,” and Hansford purposefully made the majority of the collection without sharp edges: rounded dome buttons, bulbous heels, nubby faux shearling; even the rectangular sequins have beveled edges.In keeping with this laid-back philosophy are the many matching sets and separates included in the collection. They range from the simple (a gray turtleneck and flares) to the extravagant (a silver sequin pantsuit). As always, the accessories are an important part of the collection and many are bubbled, as promised. Statement necklaces and earrings are made from gumball-size spheres, while sandals are reimagined with a gentle, conical heel. Coziness, as a theme, makes sense for fall/winter. While these clothes don’t quite make you want to curl up around a fireplace with a cup of hot cocoa, maybe they’ll make you want to sip merlot around your Marcel Breuer candlesticks.
17 August 2023
Simon Miller's Chelsea Hansford would like to welcome you to the Valley. The San Fernando Valley in California to be precise. That’s right, the place that has inspired countless movies (most recently Paul Thomas Anderson’sLicorice Pizza) and given us the subcultural youth stereotype of “the valley girl,” was the starting point for Hansford’s pre-fall collection.“This is my interpretation of the Valley,” Hansford said at a preview. “All of these amazing, iconic mid-century spots are for me the backdrop of this city.” Old-school diners, motels, disco clubs, and tiki bars informed the vibrant palette of blues, reds, and greens. The colors came alive on hand-painted polka dot prints in mesh, colorful sequin going out dresses and separates, and varsity logo tees. While these ideas will capture the attention of the youthful Simon Miller customer, a pair of printed colorblock cargos and a skirt struck a particularly compelling cord with their zesty graphicality.Hansford’s strong suit is accessories. This time around, pointed penny loafers (with a Simon Miller logo penny included) stood out, as did metallic lamé going-out bags, made to match the ready-to-wear collection’s metallic trench coats, that Hansford reports, have been the buyers’ favorites so far. It’s hard to resist shiny things.The label shot this season’s lookbook at the Valley Relic Museum, home to area icons like Bob’s Big Boy Burgers. As graphic and recognizable as her inspiration was, Hansford, to her credit, wasn’t literal with her explorations, but she did capture the kitschy essence of its ’70s and ’80s visual tropes and transport them to 2022. She knows how to have fun, and knows that her pieces need to do no more than unlock this potential within all her customers. Paul Thomas Anderson saidLicorice Pizzawas his love letter to the San Fernando Valley; consider this collection Hansford’s own dispatch.
8 December 2022
Welcome to Simon Miller Island. Here you can delve into the dreamed-up world of Chelsea Hansford, where models are on a natural sugar high, wearing candy-wrapper heels, swirling taffy prints on their cotton cover-ups, and carrying coconut flake–inspired bags. “I imagined what a candy village would be like on Simon Miller Island. Everything was inspired by the textures of tropical, natural candies and candy wrappers,” said Hansford in her collection presentation space.Hansford is no stranger to creating an It item. Her bubble clogs and disco drop earrings are some of her most popular pieces. And for spring she has beach-ready versions of those items with new bubble wedge and coral necklaces. But the designer is also ready to create an It clothing piece for the brand. “We are seeing a tremendous amount of success with our logo tanks,” she said. “It’s like an opening price point, but just fun and lively. So I went hard on developing a more sophisticated logo series of knitwear. It’s universal but still has a very cool logo on it.” The hard work seems to be paying off. Gigi Hadid just wore a red version of the new knit set to the U.S. Open, helping to blow it up on social media as the next must-have from the label.With her upcoming nuptials on her mind, Hansford created her first-ever bridal look. Inspired by vermicelli noodles and licorice, she made a wedding dress fit for a bride getting married on Simon Miller Island (Hansford wore the mini version during the presentation). As for the groom, he can wear the reversible satin souvenir jacket, just as her fiancé did.
9 September 2022
Chelsea Hansford took a trip down the rabbit hole to Alice’s Wonderland for resort. “I wanted to build a world where everything would be nonsense,” she said during a preview, “where everything that is isn’t and everything that isn’t is.” She was inspired by the multiple realities we seem to be living in right now, particularly by how the metaverse seems to be building another world right in front of our eyes. Clothing for the multiverse, perhaps; for everything, everywhere, all at once.Trippy surrealism seems to be becoming a new normal in fashion. Recently we’ve seen collections populated by toy-car dresses, torso handbags, and upside down heels–things that aren’t what they are, or are what they aren’t. Here, a one-shoulder sequin zebra jumpsuit, a set in rectangular mirror paillettes, and an abstract snake print swim set took the spotlight, but where Hansford was better was in her more subtle, monochrome pieces (well, as subtle as Simon Miller gets under her direction).The standouts were the rib knits, particularly a top and dress set where the plating in the knit turned into fringe at the hem. Knitted tonally and engineered to hug the body, the pieces stand halfway between the novelty knits that have been trending for some seasons now and the loungewear we all invested in during the early days of the pandemic. Ribbed knits are a big part of the business at Simon Miller, so Hansford is also introducing “Knits by Simon Miller,” a capsule of monochrome separates made with a custom viscose nylon yarn. The tightly knit yarn allows the pieces to accommodate snaps, zippers, and other details traditionally reserved for woven pieces. “People are over loungewear, but they want comfort and to look chic and put together, so this is what we’re giving that person,” she said.Hansford wants Simon Miller to exist in a space of playful luxury. “Not too kitschy, not cheap looking,” she says, “something that is fun but doesn’t feel too young, and that also does not feel like stiff luxury.” The key for her will be finding the balance between whimsy and her customer’s real life, whatever real life is today.
8 June 2022
Chelsea Hansford of Simon Miller makes fun clothing: colorful, wildly textured, interestingly proportioned ready-to-wear and accessories. She calls these pieces, those that aren’t basics, “emotional.” The customer sees the shiny golden mini bag from across a crowded department store, locks eyes, and falls in love.It’s an intriguing term, especially as Simon Miller’s offerings are often neither trendy nor timeless. Who’s to say if you’re going to love your rounded, clunky, bell pepper green clog in 10 years? You very well could, but you want it now. “Emotional” captures that. Falling into that category for fall 2022 are bedazzled denim jackets and jeans, Yeti boots, chrome clutches, shearling bags, and thigh-high black sparkly boots.The lookbook is titled Life on Mars, and is styled in a futuristic way with a few Western touches (Hansford introduced cowboy boots in several colors, with a sharply pointed toe). The photos are cool, but they don’t tell the story of the collection quite as well as what Hansford has gleaned from her sales.Firstly, she knows that you need the novelties to draw in customers. “The fashion pieces sell your basics,” she says. “You put a long shearling on the rack, and all of a sudden they’re buying the ribbed clothing.” Same goes for bags. “It’s not necessarily our classic bags that are selling well,” Hansford says. “When we started it was about those; that’s not it anymore. The more glitter, the more Lurex, the more denim, the better.” Mesh, which she introduced for the first time in resort 2021, has become a key part of the business. “It’s mesh being a trend, but it’s also a good price point, and it’s emotional with all the draping,” she explains. When Hansford hits on a style that resonates, she releases it in a rainbow of colors and fabrications. The bubble clogs, arguably Simon Miller’s most recognizable item, are available in several shades of shearling alone, including a long-hair iteration. When the more classic brown shearling overcoat sold well, Hansford released it in several less conventional shades and textures, including a yellow and brown version.It’s a reminder that designing clothing is a business, even when a designer inhabits the aesthetic of a brand as fully as Hansford does. Walking through the collection, she’s passionate about each new color, pattern and textile. But because there are so many variations of the same style, the collection overflows with options that can feel perfunctory rather than precious.
The bottom line doesn’t have to be so apparent. How many shoulder bags do you need to pack for a trip to Mars, anyways?
13 February 2022
Simon Miller has disco fever. Chelsea Hansford’s pre-fall 2022 collection, called The Hustle, is a visual feast of textures, bright colors, and prints inspired by ’80s Miami. The look books always have a story to tell, and for this season Sedona Legge stars as a working woman who throws on her matching jersey and satin separates to lounge around her mansion and pool by day, and dresses in purple-paillette duster coats for solo dance parties by night. “I wanted to riff on all her extravagance in a comical way, a bit kitschy,” said Hansford. “As we’re expanding the brand and leaving our laid-back style that we’ve been in for the past few years, I wanted to show this woman in all of her lavishness, going from her morning all the way to night in her home.”This is really a collection of textures. From the silver Lurex top-handle bags, matching swimwear, and vegan-leather silver pants and coordinating trench coat to a series of bags that have almost a loofah-like effect and the cascade of paillettes in silver and purple that close out the collection, every piece is made to be touched. The textures elevate many of the otherwise simple designs to lavish proportions.Hansford’s first go at eveningwear is as fun as the accessories Simon Miller is best known for. The designer who made bright green bubble clogs appealing would naturally be able to liven up a LBD. It’s always been a party over at Simon Miller; this just makes it official.
9 December 2021