Simplifier Paris seeks to offer a more accessible approach to fashion

Drawing on 20 years’ experience as a fashion sales representative, Christophe Nguyen launched his own label, Simplifier Paris, in 2020, with the ambition of offering a streamlined wardrobe produced in Europe, with particular attention paid to cuts and fabrics. Starting with shirts, the brand is now broadening its range to include boxer shorts, long johns, chinos, and accessories, while continuing to develop its distribution network.

The brand has built its identity around a unisex shirt with a very loose fit, the ‘Ralph’, which has a boxy silhouette and is crafted from Oxford cotton. Priced at 130 euros, this style has since been joined by the ‘Lauren’, which offers a boyfriend fit. The shirts are periodically available in multicoloured versions or reworked as dresses, and the range has expanded to include boxer shorts priced at 50 euros and trousers at 80 euros. Above all, the brand focuses on a wide palette of colours and relies in part on made-to-order production.

Commercial development is underpinned by both a physical and digital presence, designed to underscore the premium positioning of the garments. The brand has just under 50 active stockists in major urban areas, including specialist partner outlets such as Jinji in Paris.

This multi-brand network complements a direct-to-consumer business in which the permanent collections are never discounted. Thanks to this expanding hybrid network, the company currently generates a turnover of just under 300,000 euros.

“I’m trying to find my identity and my backbone,” explains Christophe Nguyen. “The idea is not to be swept up by trends, but to maintain a timeless line and products that never go out of style. I don’t want to be a fashion brand: for me, it’s really about the product first. A product that can be worn just as easily by someone going to work as by someone who wants to imagine more creative looks.”

The founder can draw in particular on the expertise he gained as an agent for Eleven Paris, as well as on his experience with the brand Les Artists, which he launched in 2012 and which notably found its way to Colette, the former temple of fashion design on Rue Saint-Honoré.

Today, to further raise the profile of Simplifier Paris, Christophe Nguyen is focusing in particular on organising regular pop-up events in carefully selected locations across the capital. These initiatives help to bring together a clientele with a taste for urban aesthetics and a more formal wardrobe.

Production takes place mainly in Portugal, where the shirts are assembled and the fabrics woven, while the caps are made in Poland. The finishing touches and alterations to these collections are carried out in a workshop located in Essonne, south of Paris.

The next phase of growth targeted by the management team relates directly to retail. The company is actively seeking property opportunities with a view to opening its first standalone shop, where it will present the collection from its 12th lookbook.