Jonathan Simkhai Reveals His Chic NYFW Rituals—And How To Take Hot Gym Selfies!

3

Jonathan Simkhai returned to Hudson Yards on Friday night, showcasing Simkhai‘s grungy Fall 2025 collection at New York Fashion Week. After the show, we caught up with the designer on his most challenging designs, secrets for taking eye-catching thirst traps, and more!

How did you start your morning before today’s show?
I had a great day today. I went to get a facial by Joanna Czech, which was really fun. She was very calming. At a certain point you can’t obsess, and I’m obsessive. I have the most amazing team, they’re so hardworking, and they’ve been with me for awhile—so they really know once we fit the looks, there’s only so much that I can do. I try to meditate and find my calm and my inner peace. So, I had a massage and a facial, and came here for the run-through and the lighting test. It felt like I did so much more!

Aweng Ade-Chuol, Jonathan Simkhai (BFA Images/Deonté Lee)

Fab! Your Fall 2025 collection was super detailed—were any looks challenging to create?
One of the harder ones was the distressed leather…getting that perfect amount of distressing. We’ve had to see multiple rounds of prototypes. We made the jackets seven or eight times before we actually liked the quality, the way that the distressing is not doing too much, and the shapes. The footwear, too. Shoes are definitely tricky, and you want to make sure that they look good, but also are comfortable to walk in. They have to be functional, so making sure those were fitting.

Who’s a model you haven’t collaborated with yet that’s on your bucket list?
I’m obsessed with models, and seeing them coming to the castings, and the work that’s required of them to be so still and stand still, having to walk back and forth and try numerous looks on, and run around town to go to castings. And it’s show after show after show! I definitely have an admiration for the work that they do and how challenging it might be. Being a model sounds like such a glamorous thing, and they’re so beautiful. At the same time, it can be very challenging. But to answer that question, I would have to say Vittoria Ceretti.

Vittoria Ceretti

You’re always working out! What’s the secret to taking a perfect gym thirst trap?
Lighting! It’s all about the lighting. Sometimes you turn the lighting down on your camera, so you get a little bit of the shadow, the contour, the high contrast. Dog Pound in LA has the most amazing lighting, so you can’t take a bad picture.

Jonathan Simkhai (BFA Images/Deonté Lee)

Aside from your afterparty at Laissez Faire, what are your post-show plans? Doing anything fun?
I love being in the showroom after market. I like to be in the first few appointments to really understand what people are gravitating towards. It’s a business—it’s not just about the show—but being able to see what people are gravitating towards and what products they like, and to see what translates to the showroom and into the customer. That’s where I’ll be on Monday!

Aweng Ade-Chuol, Tiffany Haddish, Beanie Feldstein (BFA Images/Deonté Lee)

Leonie Hanne, Tiffany Hsu, Amy Julliette Lefévre, Mary Leest, Delaney Rowe (BFA Images/Deonté Lee)

Subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date on all the latest fashion news and juicy industry gossip.

You can view the original article HERE.