How Jonathan Simkhai's Retail Background Influenced His Career

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Fashion designer Jonathan Simkhai was always fascinated by fashion. When Simkhai was a kid, he began working at a knitwear outlet. "I actually started working in a sweater knitwear outlet store when I was 12 years old," Simkhai said. "It wasn't like a real job, but one of my neighbors had a sweater factory not too far from the house I grew up in." Simkhai went on to work at a boutique and expanded his retail experience to buying and merchandising. "Through the years, I continued working at that store, and I went on to having a nice client list but also working on the buying side, visual merchandising," Simkhai said.

For the latest episode of The Who What Wear Podcast, Simkhai shares how his retail experience influenced how he thinks about his own label, what to expect from his next collection, and more.

For excerpts from the conversation, scroll below.

I'd love if you could dive into some of your earliest fashion memories. How did you start working in the industry as a teenager?

I actually started working in a sweater knitwear outlet store when I was 12 years old. It wasn't like a real job, but one of my neighbors had a sweater factory not too far from the house I grew up in. I was just so intrigued and always so fascinated by fashion. Loved it so much. I just asked him a bunch of questions, and one day, he was like, "Hey, do you want to come with me on a Sunday?" We turned one of the rooms in the factory into an outlet, so he offered to bring me with him. I just loved people coming in and opening boxes and showing them different things and picking things out for them. It was just always such a fun interaction and seeing how people would get so excited when they found something they loved.

From there, I went on to working in a boutique. I was probably like 14 or 15 at the time. I started working as a stock associate responsible for go-backs and putting things back after people tried them on and replenishing the floor as sizes were sold through. One day, I was walking around filling something in, and a client came up to me and was like, "Hey, do you have this in my size? I'm looking for this and that." I just got so excited because someone wanted me to help them find what they were looking for. I ended up having a really great connection with that customer and built a relationship with them. That's kind of how I started styling and working with people.

Through the years, I continued working at that store, and I went on to having a nice client list but also working on the buying side, visual merchandising. That was really my first introduction to fashion.

You ultimately launched your namesake brand in 2010. You also rebranded from Jonathan Simkhai to Simkhai in 2023. Tell me about your decision to rebrand after 13 years.

When I started the brand, it was really just me and a few part-time people that would give me a few hours a week. [They would] leave their full-time jobs and help me at the beginning. It was really just me and a little bit of help here and there. As the business grew and as the brand grew, it was no longer just about me. It was about the family and everyone that came together to make this vision come to life and bring this product to our customer. I really wanted to take the emphasis off of myself and make it all about the Simkhai family. The team is so dedicated and so hardworking and really shares the passion that I have to create and, as we continue to grow, stepping into more international regions and other languages. [I] wanted to consolidate the brand name so that it was easier to articulate and easier to say. It's still not the easiest to say, but keeping it short definitely helps.

Without giving too much away, is there anything you're especially excited about showcasing in this collection?

I'm really excited about the knitwear. There's some really beautiful development [in] knit—fine-gauge knits that are just really beautiful and airy but also some really warm, delicious, lofty knitwear … and some really beautiful embellishment. [There are also] some nice eveningwear pieces.

I'd love to hear more about how your retail background and interactions with shoppers was training for understanding what your customers want.

I would say I really love being in-store and with the customers as much as even being in the atelier. They both really drive or inspire ideas, and just being with them and seeing how they react to putting something on for the first time, it's so eye-opening.

When I'm designing the pieces, I think of people that I met in the store, and I kind of create these versions of "this is for this type of customer—this is for that type of customer." Having that personal connection and being able to design for someone, the person you might have thought would like something might not end up liking it, but the idea of that person might translate to somebody else.

I think that really thinking about what they need and really thinking about their life and where they're going, what they're doing, where they're traveling to … is so important. I think that being with them and spending time with them is really the only way you can fully understand that.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.