Biography
Over the last decade Simmonds has made a name for himself in the industry for style signature, lending brands an extra edge and boosting the impact of their advertising campaigns. He was one of the key figures behind the Gucci re-imagining that has garnered so much industry attention, providing the art direction for new Gucci designer Alessandro Michele 's first campaign for the storied fashion house. Simmonds was also behind the much-lauded redesign of Dazed and Confused in 2010, when he was the magazine's creative director.
Born in Birmingham in the 1980s, Simmonds grew up immersed in the city’s counter culture that continues to influence his work today. Simmonds moved to London (where he is still based) to study fashion promotion at Central St Martins. His final project, a men’s magazine titled ‘He-Man’ sold out. Several fashion magazine internships later, Simmonds took up his first position as an art director at Martin Jacobs in London. Lane Crawford, a Chinese department store, took an interest in his widely popular graduate magazine, resulting in a commission to art direct an upcoming campaign.
Simmonds set up his own creative design studio in 2009, which specialises in fashion and editorial, and works across multiple platforms. His client list includes the likes of J W Anderson, Alexander McQueen and Alexander Wang , with his work ranging from social media campaigns, website redesigns, window displays to store designs.
In 2010, Simmonds realised his childhood ambition by being appointed creative director for Dazed and Confused, redesigning it as a bimonthly, although he has since stepped down from the position.
In 2017, Simmonds partnered with British Vogue stylist Francesca Burns to launch the independent magazine, Print in 2016.