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Jessica Simpson is giddy.<\/p>\n
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Positively bouncing off the virtual walls of Zoom \u2014 if that is possible. The camera’s off, but it doesn’t matter. The intonation and signature hint of drawl in her voice are effervescent as ever. <\/p>\n
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The star immediately launches into a conversation about a flight to Nashville. She has been recording music there recently, after temporarily relocating her family to the city<\/a> from Los Angeles last summer. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like a retreat for me. I get to just crawl up inside my head and embrace my heart,\u201d she says. \u201cI feel so enlightened there. Writing music has become a beautiful therapeutic thing for me that I didn\u2019t know was so natural, but it\u2019s because I haven\u2019t done it in so long. It\u2019s just nice to know that I\u2019m meeting myself back in this place, as a woman, and after going through everything that I\u2019ve been through in my life. There\u2019s a sense of freedom and empowerment.\u201d The singer says she has more than 400 poems recorded in her journals from the past few months.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The studio as sanctuary is a familiar trope for any musician, but it has taken the singer through some of her tougher years. She recorded her 2006 album, \u201cA Public Affair,\u201d after a very public divorce from Nick Lachey. It\u2019s also where she went as she was getting sober, reconciling with her father and pondering what to write in her 2020 memoir, \u201cOpen Book.\u201d That both of those titles allude to a boundary-less presence in the public sphere is no coincidence. Simpson has always worn her heart \u2014 and her inner monologue \u2014 on her sleeve.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The new music (set to release in early 2024, with a tour to follow) will undoubtedly add fuel to the fire of current Y2K nostalgia, bringing her millennial followers closer to those halcyon afternoons of the MTV \u201cTRL\u201d era. It also will be a chance to reintroduce Simpson as a music artist, given that a generation of fans know her more for her shoes than as a pop star who broke onto the scene in 1999 at 19 years old. Or, for that matter, as the 22-year-old reality TV wife from \u201cNewlyweds,\u201d the pioneering 2003 MTV series that predated \u201cKeeping Up With the Kardashians\u201d and the \u201cReal Housewives.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n When she launched the Jessica Simpson Collection in 2005 with a footwear licensing deal with shoe legend Vince Camuto, the star was at the apex of her aughts-era fame. Celebrity fashion deals were coming fast and furious at the time: Gwen Stefani had just launched her L.A.M.B. label, Jennifer Lopez was expanding her reach, Beyonc\u00e9\u2019s House of Dere\u00f3n was in its infancy. Everyone had a perfume license.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Simpson\u2019s foray into fashion and footwear could have easily gone the way of those other brands, fading out with the news and promotional cycles. But as the star remained gossip rag fodder for her various relationship or weight statuses during the ensuing years, the silver lining of all that scrutiny was an exponentially growing business that famously pushed the brand into billion-dollar territory in 2015.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAn icon is someone who is not afraid to take risks. And often, their choices don\u2019t make sense in the immediate, but they\u2019re part of an enlightened understanding of the big picture. It\u2019s someone who transcends a particular time or place and defines a moment.\u201d<\/p>\n Jessica Simpson<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The venture’s more recent headlines have followed Simpson and her mother Tina (the brand’s co-founder) as they have navigated buying back the company<\/a> in its entirety from former partner Sequential Brands Group in 2021, putting in everything they’ve got to rebuild the business into what it used to be. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThe most rewarding thing is knowing everything we do is now for us and our team,\u201d says Simpson. \u201cWe\u2019re doing everything. We\u2019re making every investment and putting forth all effort, every sacrifice. It\u2019s for the brand.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The feel-good comeback story has also landed the star in the crosshairs of today\u2019s clashing messages of women\u2019s empowerment and a fresh round of body and beauty scrutiny in the Ozempic era. It\u2019s familiar territory for a tabloid veteran like Simpson \u2014 but now, some 20 years later, she gets to wear the \u201cicon\u201d badge. The music artist, entertainer and entrepreneur has been pondering the oft-used word lately, especially as she is set to receive the Icon Award at this year\u2019s FN Achievement Awards<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAn icon is someone who is not afraid to take risks,\u201d she starts out. \u201cAnd often, their choices don\u2019t make sense in the immediate, but they\u2019re part of an enlightened understanding of the big picture. It\u2019s someone who transcends a particular time or place and defines a moment.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n To stop right there would sum it up well for Simpson. But the discussion continues at length and quickly turns meta, meandering into the spiritual (\u201can icon is always aligned in their purpose\u201d), the inspirational (\u201cI feel like a lot of people need to believe in themselves more, that they can be iconic\u201d) and the just plain honest (\u201cIt\u2019s rare when an icon comes along, because so many people are just controlled by fear\u201d).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Simpson was inevitably also thinking of the question at her FN cover shoot in L.A. in October, as the artist spent the day running through a set of looks inspired by a certain type of beauty icon: the blonde bombshell. With Marilyn Monroe, Brigitte Bardot, Jayne Mansfield and Ann-Margret as her glamour guides, the star moved through a series of looks with tousled hair, midcentury-esque frocks and the requisite pinup pout.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The comparison to other famous blondes is nothing new for Simpson. When the Texas native released her first album in 1999, she was instantly likened to Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, the Mickey Mouse Club members she did not get to join after she self-admittedly froze up during the audition. Even today, there are mistaken identities; she revealed that last month a fan asked for her autograph, thinking she was Spears.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI was up against a lot of other blondes, a lot of competition,\u201d Simpson says of her early years, particularly when she made the decision to film \u201cNewlyweds\u201d with MTV. \u201cBack then it was, if you\u2019re not No. 1, you\u2019re nothing. But then I realized, I don\u2019t have to be No. 1. I can be something without being that.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n While Simpson says she\u2019ll never return to reality TV \u2014 and the genre\u2019s notorious editing \u2014 she is exploring a docuseries option.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMy younger self definitely cared and wanted to be accepted. I had to grow up in the business. Words can hurt. But it\u2019s the icons who stay. Because they don\u2019t believe it. They know that their purpose is bigger.”<\/p>\n Jessica Simpson<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n She is also taking cues from her family, particularly her eldest daughter Maxwell<\/a>, now 11. \u201cShe is very much into the glow-up stuff, how to better yourself. I had to have her explain it to me the other day, because I thought it was literally putting highlighter on her cheeks,\u201d Simpson says. \u201cShe said, \u2018Mom, no, it\u2019s your inner glow and how to glow up everything in your life.\u2019 Wow, that\u2019s a beautiful concept. If that\u2019s what you\u2019re learning on TikTok, keep going \u2014 but just know, those are all filters.” <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n While the star has certainly explored the beauty industrial complex before (remember her globetrotting VH1 show “The Price of Beauty” in 2010?), she doesn’t think too much of beauty iconography \u2014 blonde or otherwise \u2014 when it comes to her own life and career these days.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMy younger self definitely cared and wanted to be accepted. I had to grow up in the business. Words can hurt. But it\u2019s the icons who stay. Because they don\u2019t believe it. They know that their purpose is bigger,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m not here searching for what could make an impact or an iconic moment. I set out to be vulnerable, honest, authentic.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Both Simpson and her mother attribute the brand\u2019s success to this philosophy. \u201cShe\u2019s been really true to her word and true to her style,\u201d said Tina, who now directly oversees the 51 licensed categories the company holds, working with their team of eight women, all of whom have been at the brand since nearly the start. \u201cShe\u2019s been very consistent to who she is as a person, and I think that is more of what an icon is, somebody who represents themselves well.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the beginning, the brand\u2019s DNA has relied heavily on the star\u2019s totems of iconography \u2014 and a sense of homegrown relatability. Simpson and Camuto launched the Jessica Simpson Collection with a red cowboy boot, a nod not only to her cameo as Daisy Duke in the 2005 \u201cDukes of Hazzard\u201d film but also an homage to Simpson\u2019s cousin, Sarah, who died unexpectedly when the star was 15.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n It\u2019s that unique mix of vulnerability and confidence \u2014 plus an innate sense of off- the-cuff comedic timing \u2014 that has carried the star through to today. It\u2019s a recipe that younger celebs and influencers might look to, particularly in the age of meticulously- planned self-branding and overnight social media success stories.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThere are little successes that we celebrate along the way. It\u2019s not just one grandiose moment,\u201d says Simpson. \u201cJust staying in the process, instead of feeling as if something\u2019s completely accomplished, is almost more important.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n She and Tina are certainly putting in the real work at the brand, which is headed for even more<\/a> <\/a>expansion<\/a>. More international licenses are planned for next year, including the Middle East, Mexico, Central and South America and Australia, plus ventures into menswear, boy\u2019s and hair care. According to Tina, sales are expected to return \u201cupwards to $1 billion\u201d in 2024.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The family matriarch said that being a successful entrepreneur means not being afraid to ask questions. \u201cFor me, it\u2019s worked to not come off as a know-it-all,\u201d said Tina. \u201cI listen a lot, then I make my decision. Because I know strongly what\u2019s right and what\u2019s best for us.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n For Simpson, it all comes down to authenticity. \u201cIt wouldn\u2019t be as exciting if we just felt like we\u2019ve succeeded,\u201d says the star. \u201cWhat makes us successful is staying true to who we are.\u201d <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jessica Simpson photographed on Oct. 18 at PMC Studios in Los Angeles. Photographer: Camraface. Style Director: Shannon Adducci. Stylist: Natalie Saidi. Makeup: Joyce Bonelli. Hair: Jessie Holiday. Prop Stylist: Skye Whitley-Guzm\u00e1n. Editorial Assistant: Tara Larson.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n For 37 years, the annual FN Achievement Awards \u2014 often called the \u201cShoe Oscars\u201d \u2014 have celebrated the style stars, best brand stories, ardent philanthropists, emerging talents and industry veterans. The 2023 event is supported by sponsors Authentic Brands Group, Birdies, Caleres, Crocs, FDRA, Nordstrom, Saucony and Vibram.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n After decades of public scrutiny, the music artist and entrepreneur looks back \u2014 and forward \u2014 on music, shoes and fashion. 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