Jessica Simpson Is Rediscovering Herself In Truly Bohemian Fashion

Jessica Simpson‘s stepping into a brand-new era—and, of course, doing so in sky-high heels. The star’s been an open, authentic figure in pop culture for 25 years, just slightly longer than her 20-year-old namesake Jessica Simpson Collection, which spans everything from fashion to fragrance. As the 2020’s reach their midpoint, Simpson’s kicking off her latest career chapter with a new perfume, the floral-woody Mystic Canyon, and her new Nashville Canyon EP—each inspired by her own self-discovery. To mark the occasion, we caught up with Simpson on her latest fragrance, music, boho fashion, and sisterhood with Ashlee Simpson—plus her surprising inspiration from Willie Nelson, bringing back her 2000’s edible beauty line, and her kids’ thoughts on “chicken of the sea.”

There weren’t many celebrity fragrances at the time! What inspired you to launch your first perfume?
The first fragrance was called Fancy. I actually came up with the name when I was on the set of The Dukes of Hazzard. I was talking to Willie Nelson, and he told me to listen to this artist called named Bobbie Gentry. He was telling me to lean into her way of storytelling and her style of music, and told me to cover this song called “Fancy.” I looked it up, and I was like, “Wait a second, Reba McEntire has a number-one hit with this song right now!” He’s like, “Reba sang ‘Fancy’?” I’m like, “Yes, Willie, it’s number one right now on charts.” He’s like, “Well, I think that you should use the name ‘fancy’ somewhere, in anything that you do, because you are this fancy Southern woman, but you also are so relatable inside of that ‘fancy.’” I will give credit to Willie Nelson—he kind of named the first perfume launch for me. That is a special thing, to listen to mentors like that and find ways to put it into your brand creatively. It’s cool. I don’t know that I’ve told that story, ever. Willie Nelson was a part of that. Coming off of Dukes of Hazzard and off of Newlyweds, a lot of people were wanting to wear what I was wearing on TV and my everyday life, whether it was in paparazzi shots, in the tabloids, on Newlyweds, or in my music video for “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’.” The Jessica Simpson Collection started off with cowboy boots and some accessories, and it just kept growing from there. Twenty years later, here we are, still releasing perfume!

Tell us about your new fragrance, Mystic Canyon. What inspired the scent, and what does it make you think of?
It’s a feeling and an emotion put into a bottle. The sense of Mystic Canyon is how I was feeling when I was going through the romance of self-discovery as a woman. It has elements of the canyon—it has oak moss and cedar wood, but it also has a creamy vanilla bean. It’s not too floral; I know a lot of people are either people that love floral or they don’t. This is a more sophisticated and grounded version of anything that I’ve released. I feel the same about the music, so that’s exciting for me, to be able to relate my perfume as a scent to [Nashville Canyon]. That is a soulful feeling that I’m having, while putting myself out there independently.

We love the bottle design—the turquoise stones and leather are so bohemian.
I have so much jewelry that I have collected over the years. You can even see it in the “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’” video or anything of me onstage. Normally, I will have a piece of turquoise on. Turquoise is a grounding stone, it’s a stone of insight, and it’s a protective stone. I’m definitely a turquoise fan. I have a lot of turquoise jewelry, and there’s a spiritual element to that. I love that. I love the leather-wrapped neck of the bottle. I have a lot of conch shells that have turquoise as well, so I wanted to put that in there. It really represents my style, and it represents the Jessica Simpson Collection. A lot of days, I can wear a fancy slip dress on a date—but I can also put a turquoise belt over it to make it more myself. As far as fashion goes, this bottle represents me. It has a free-spirited vibe.

Boho fashion’s back, which you started back in the 2000’s. How do you feel about the trend’s comeback in the 2020’s?
Boho has never gone out of fashion in my wardrobe! Throughout the Jessica Simpson Collection, we delivered boho in every single season, no matter what. I like a fun, busy floral print, and I love slip dresses—even though they are very ’90s, I try to bring them into the 2000’s and now into 2025. We just released Jessica Simpson 2.0, and that’s a more elevated collection that we were really proud to release to celebrate 20 years. It’s all stuff that is literally out of my closet that we replicated off of vintage pieces that I love and adore that I’ve bought over the years. It has pieces that have velvets with rhinestones, but it has relaxed fashion as well. Every piece of that collection is an element, of the character, of my personality. It was so natural for me to create it. We did it so fast, and we were able to make it a quick turnaround. We’re already working on the spring version of that, which I think people are going to love. That’ll be more crochets and stuff that’s also boho. Boho has always been a more relaxed feel for me.

Jessica Simpson (Courtesy of Jessica Simpson Collection)

You’ve also been the face of your own brand for 20 years! How does it feel to be so involved for two decades, from creating pieces to modeling in campaigns?
Just the other day, somebody came up to me—I think I was at Ashlee [Simpson]s birthday party. They were like, “Wow, I didn’t realize you were so little.” I’m like, “Is this a compliment, or do you really wish I was five-eight? Because I’m not—I’m five-three.” It’s funny to me that people expect me to be so tall. I never signed up to be a model, so even when I do the photo shoots for the Jessica Simpson Collection, I’m like, “Can’t we pay somebody else to do this? Why am I still doing this at 45?” For the photo shoots, we try to make it as “me” as possible to where I’m not uncomfortable. I’m definitely not a supermodel, but I like that people can relate to me. I feel like that all started with Newlyweds and not being put up on this pedestal and unattainable with the fame I was getting. I became more of your everyday girl next door, which I actually am. People saw my personality and could relate to it. Thank God I had the reality [TV] stuff towards the beginning of my career, because I think that that only helped me throughout this whole process of creating a brand that has lasted as long as it has.

Jessica Simpson (Courtesy of Jessica Simpson Collection)

You and your sister, Ashlee, are having a busy year together! Have you seen her Vegas residency yet?
Yes! I was there the first weekend. Oh my gosh, I could have thrown up for her, I was so nervous. I’ve been in the studio the past two years, in Nashville, finding myself, creating what I wanted people to hear. Ashlee was able to do that from the beginning of her career. I was a formulated pop star; I had a job to do, and Ashlee got to create her own job. She’s always gotten to be authentically who she is in her music. Whereas I was singing the lyrics that somebody else wrote, I was having to do the dance moves that I was told to do, I was having to wear the things that the label wanted me to wear. Ashlee was always able to be herself, and I always envied that, but I also always celebrated that with her. Every song that Ashlee put out is still so “her” to this day, and it’s really beautiful to celebrate. I was definitely her biggest fan in the crowd, me and my mom and my dad and Evan [Ross]. We were all in tears watching her shine. I love to watch my sister perform. She used to be my backup dancer, so to watch her be up front and center and be in the spotlight…there’s no better feeling than to watch your sister shine. I will say, every time she performs, I’m completely blown away and I’m always inspired. I loved being up there. I loved watching my best friend be her best, and she really just embodies this era of confidence, likability, and this cool girl factor that’s really hard to have—but she just so effortlessly has it.

Ashlee Simpson and Jessica Simpson (Courtesy of Jessica Simpson/Instagram)

What’s your favorite Ashlee Simpson song?
My favorite songs of Ashlee’s are “Undiscovered” and “Eyes Wide Open.” When she wrote “Eyes Wide Open,” I knew the place in which she was coming from. I knew the story that she was telling. “Undiscovered,” I think, is still relatable to this day because there’s so much a part of ourselves that we have yet understood, what we’re trying to discover. We’re always, as artists, in that sense of self-discovery. I love watching Ashlee do that live, because she falls to her knees and it’s  really beautiful to watch the crowd react to her.

You’ve also done some commercials with your kids! How do they feel about some of your past catchphrases, like “chicken of the sea”?
They roll their eyes with the rest of the world! They’re definitely like, “Mom, really?” They’ll go on YouTube and watch some old stuff, like Newlyweds or whatever, and they laugh because it’s still so me. I’m still the same in the kitchen, I’m still a very curious person. I ask questions that most people probably Google, and I’m always thinking out loud. I don’t censor myself. I think my kids find it funny, [and] definitely find it relatable. It’s a quality of mine that they actually admire, and it helps them be able to not fear asking whatever comes to mind. They definitely know the difference between chicken and tuna!

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