This Lingerie Designer Found Creative Freedom in Nashville After Working in New York for 20 Years

Sophie Simmons

<cite class="credit">Photo: Heidi Ross</cite>
Photo: Heidi Ross
<cite class="credit">Photo: Heidi Ross</cite>
Photo: Heidi Ross
<cite class="credit">Photo: Heidi Ross</cite>
Photo: Heidi Ross
<cite class="credit">Photo: Heidi Ross</cite>
Photo: Heidi Ross
<cite class="credit">Photo: Heidi Ross</cite>
Photo: Heidi Ross
<cite class="credit">Photo: Heidi Ross</cite>
Photo: Heidi Ross
<cite class="credit">Photo: Heidi Ross</cite>
Photo: Heidi Ross
<cite class="credit">Photo: Heidi Ross</cite>
Photo: Heidi Ross
<cite class="credit">Photo: Heidi Ross</cite>
Photo: Heidi Ross

Ten years ago, Sophie Simmons was in search of a simpler life. The native Parisian spent nearly two decades in New York City, first attending design school at Parsons and later, launching two fashion companies: Thread Bridesmaid, a bridal collection, and later the loungewear and lingerie line Dessous. In her late 30s, she says, she was looking to quiet things down a bit and find “the space to start a family.” Simmons was also looking for more creative space, a place to unwind from the chaos of the big city and the fashion industry, and reboot herself as a designer.

Today, Simmons launches her eponymous lingerie label from Nashville, where she ultimately moved with her partner and their child in 2009. The collection is an ode to Dessous, with neutral-color underwear and camisoles made from high-quality Japanese cotton and custom embroideries in French lace. While all of the pieces are produced with Simmons’s old sewing team in Manhattan’s Garment District, her core design team is in Nashville, and she hopes to move all production there in the near future.

“I’m a huge fan of Natalie Chanin and her company Alabama Chanin,” Simmons says of the Florence, Alabama-based fashion label. “I am in talks to produce with her at some point.” Like Chanin, Simmons is one of many designers now working and designing in the American South. Nashville has garnered a lot of attention from the industry in the last few years, thanks to labels like the denim line Imogene + Willie, as well as celebrity-beloved vintage shop Nikki Lane. But a Nashville-based lingerie label? Not too many of those have popped up in Music City. “I’ve found more freedom here,” Simmons explains. “Living is less complicated and strained when you have room to breathe. Plus, there is a lot of enthusiasm in Nashville, and the local community has been so encouraging.”

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