Gown and Out in Beverly Hills stars Pol’ Atteu and Patrik Simpson take the Fashion world by storm with a recent global launch of Fashion88 mall

It’s a gorgeous spring afternoon as I make my way to Pol’ Atteu Couture Boutique in Beverly Hills. I have an appointment to meet with reality TV personalities, celebrity fashion designers and businessmen Pol’ Atteu and Patrik Simpson also known as the PPBoyz Beverly Hills. I was a little nervous I will admit, but as I enter the boutique that anxiety quickly faded. I see the familiar faces greet me as if I was an old friend they hadn’t seen in a long time. Pol’ is running around organizing his gowns and Patrik managing the store, while their adorable famous pooch SnowWhite, relaxes in Patrick’s arms. A few young TV actresses and models come into the store for a quick meeting about their future gown fittings. They will be making a guest appearance on their show “Gown and Out in Beverly Hills”. The boutique is also a TV set for their hit show and this is a small glimpse into the everyday life of the two moguls and power couple who have built an empire in the industry of fashion and media. A few selfie group photoshoots later and, we sat down for the interview. I felt relaxed like I was talking to my two best friends as they are the friendliest most charismatic people I have met in this industry so far. I dove in and asked these two powerhouses how they got into the crazy and fabulous world of fashion and media. It seems the boys are taking the fashion industry by storm: with a recent global launch of Fashion88 Clothing mall to a hit new fashion series on amazon prime.

Patrik Simpson and Pol’ Atteu who have been in the media spotlight and fashion industry for many years and were both raised in Southern California. Patrik, was born and raised in the OC, and got his start as an international model, working for famed designers, Versace and Generra, and then on to be a talent scout, while on the other hand, his fiancé Pol’ was born in Kuwait, but moved to Los Angeles at a young age where he grew up with dreams of becoming a fashion designer. Pol’ was born to an Armenian family where having a career in creativity and fashion was not very accepted. “Being creative and having no background was kind of like no you can’t do that. Of course, I am Armenian, which means I was not allowed to do anything creative, I was supposed to be either an attorney or a doctor,” Says Atteu. He wanted to be an actor, a designer and do creative things from the start “but, of course, I was bullied and beaten up, it has been a challenge, this whole thing,” says Atteu. So, when he was about the tender age of twelve he knew he wanted to become a designer after watching the TV show the ‘Love Boat’. “So, while I was watching the Love Boat I saw the cruise director do a fashion show on deck and I thought whatever this is, that is what I want”.

Pol’ attended FIDM briefly and graduated from LA Trade Technical College with the coveted Gold Thimble Award. After college graduation, he worked for free for a year doing “everything and anything” for a fashion company and then started his own private label and brand, Pol’ Atteu Haute Couture. He has since had his boutique in the Golden Triangle of Beverly Hills for over twenty-five years, in which he manufactured his gowns and sold to fashion companies like Henry Bendel, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom Gallery, and to boutiques in Dubai and the Emirates. At one time he sold to Canada and high-end stores all over the world. With his mother as his muse, he got inspiration from outings with her and watching how she would dress. “She was a great shopper, she went to all the different stores and was on everyone’s lists. So, I would go with her and I would have a great time just enjoying the textures, the colors, the feel of the fabrics, but I didn’t know that I could do that. I did not know that I could be a designer. Not until I saw the love boat and those dreams began and then, I was in high school I said I wanted to be a fashion designer. The love for fashion design had started then, and I have lived my dream, every single day because I have an amazing life creating, making people happy, and being part of so many great events that have happened throughout history and even American history,” says Atteu.

Pol’ Atteu went on to do just that and dressed some of the most Iconic women in Hollywood and in history from dressing royalty to politicians such as Hillary Clinton to the Iconic ‘Golden Girl” actress Betty White to the Late Anna Nicole Smith and the list goes on. His designs have been worn to Hollywood Red-Carpets, movie premieres, industry galas and have graced the red carpets at Oscars, Emmys, and the Grammys. When asked who his favorite was to work with he says he did not know as they were all “very unique” but two women did stand out. He loved dressing Betty White because she was “the oldest living legend to me”. “They are so unique and so individual I barely repeat the dress. So, it ends up being one of a kind,” Says Atteu. But the one who touched his heart and life was his best friend the late Anna Nicole Smith. “She was my best friend and everything I made for her whether she was full figured or skinny I enjoyed making”. Now that we are on the topic of Anna Nicole Smith let’s talk about her. Pol’ and Patrik were known to be close friends of Anna Nicole Smith and gained international media attention. Atteu was her fashion designer until the end. So, let’s back up how was it working with Anna Nicole? “When I first met her, she walked down the stairs early one morning to meet with me. She wore her big pink fur robe, fuzzy slippers and I fell in love with her seeing her live. I had always admired her but never met her in person until that day. When I met her, she was larger than life,” says Atteu.
At the time Patrik and Pol’ just started dating and it was Anna Nicole who approved of their relationship and she quickly grew to become their best friends. According to Patrik, “The friendship with Anna grew very quick. She is buried in a gown Pol’s created for her. We planned the funeral and it was very difficult to see all of that unfold over the last six months of her life.” “When we were at the Bahamas going to Anna’s funeral we were in the Limo that was driving behind the hearse with the casket that was carrying her body and we were on our way to the church. The way the people of the Bahamas lined up in the streets, like thousands of people were throwing roses at the car and waving and smiling at the motorcade that was taking her to the funeral. She would have loved that. Anna would have loved that. She always wanted to be in the spotlight and she always wanted to be larger than life. She was larger than life. So, to see her funeral take place that way she would have wanted it that way and she couldn’t have scripted it better herself”.

So how did Anna Nicole’s death affect the life of Patrik and Pol’? According to Simpson, “We were on her show seasons two and three, and we went from literally just designer and talent scout to having people kind of know who we were to being on every major TV network,” says Simpson. They were interviewed by Larry King, and Anna Nicole put them in the spotlight because everyone wanted to know about her and here were her two best friends. “So, we wanted to give the right impression of who she was because so many people were saying such bad things about her. We were on E! Daily News, Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, Extra, Insider, ShowBiz Tonight, Nancy Grace, Greta Van Susteran, Inside Edition etc. We were literally having this boutique with not too many people knowing us to everyone knowing us and knew we were the best friends of Anna Nicole and that kind of started our career in reality TV,” says Simpson.
Since then they became reality TV celebrities overnight. The producers of the Anna Nicole show approached them to do “Designer Family” for Bravo. They were on “Big Red Neck Vacation,” “Hollywood Hillbillies,” “Beverly Hills Pawn”, “Race to the Scene”, on REELZ, “Raising Fame” on TLC, “Interior Therapy with Jeff Lewis” and “Watch What Happens Live” on BRAVO and they were interviewed on any every show that documented the life of Anna Nicole Smith, and there were many over the years, in the United States and in international markets. It was just this year, that their Anna Nicole interviews aired on HLN’s “How it Really Happened” and “Mysteries and Scandals” on Oxygen, and two international shows.

So, who was the real Anna Nicole? “There were so many different facets to Anna Nicole. If you got to really know her, she was loving, compassionate, a friend, a mother, businesswoman and very fun. She was our modern-day Marilyn Monroe and I miss her every day. She was one of those people that you knew you could count on and hang out with no matter what,” Says Atteu. Patrik and Pol’ wrote a beautiful loving coffee table book in her memory called “Anna Nicole Smith – Portrait of an Icon”, which documents their intimate friendship from their first meeting until the day they buried her. I was personally gifted this book by both of them and you can get your copy at portraitofanicon.com or on Amazon.
So, fast forward to today…What are Patrik’ Simpson and Pol’ Atteu up to? They have a hit show called “Gown and out in Beverly Hills,” which recently won the Hollywood Tastemaker Award and was nominated “Best New Series” and is available on Amazon Prime. The show allows you to follow the crazy antics of these TV personalities and designers and takes you behind the scenes into the crazy world of fashion. “We are always bringing in celebrities into the boutique because they are our friends and for their next big event they want me to make a dress for them,” says Atteu. “While they are doing they’re fitting they are spilling their deepest darkest secrets and Pol’ is like their therapist,” claims Simpson. “So, we got an idea to produce a show and just bring cameras in and film what we actually do with them. It started out as a YouTube show and it got millions of hits and so we put out season one on Amazon Prime,” says Simpson. The show is currently being distributed in different international markets on the NOW Network (News of the World) to countries like Spain, France, Morocco, Germany, Dubai, Cyprus and Russia and to approximately 135 million people all over the world. It was just released in Japanese on Amazon Prime Japan. Season two of the show is currently in the works and we have a lot of great guests and will be taking it into a new fun direction so stay tuned!
Apart from the show, the duo partnered up with a Fashion Tech company called Fashion88 which just celebrated their global launch. “I am the Executive Director of Celebrity Fashion Brands and Relations, and Pol’ is the Executive Director of Design,” says Simpson. Pol’ oversees the design, products, the quality control, and the designers. “Anything that will go through Fashion88 goes through Pol’ first so I can make sure that the integrity of the product, the design aspect of it, the uniqueness and exclusivity is available,” says Simpson. Some of the celebrity brands include: Adrienne Maloof’s Beverly Hills Jewelry Collection, Gretchen Christine Handbags by Real Housewives of Orange County Alum, Gretchen Rossi, Cargo by Cynthia Bailey of Atlanta Housewives, and Former Miss Puerto Rico and actress Joyce Giraud’s “Miracle Hair Elixir” are now available for sale online. In addition, we are currently developing a kids/tween line called Mack Attack by Mackenzie Hancsicsak, who play little Kate on NBC’s number one show, “This is US”.

Fashion88 is a big movement, and according to Atteu “it bridges the gap between a lot of couture designers who couldn’t sell before and now can. It will even include virtual fitting rooms”. Apart from that, the Pol’ Atteu brand opened up their store as an international pop up shop in their boutique. “We are taking up and coming designers and exposing them to the Beverly Hills world. Basically, giving them a platform to be able to thrive and a chance for them to get recognition,” says Simpson. Pol’ Atteu will soon manufacture his own clothing line so “anyone can buy his couture at an affordable price”. During the global launch of Fashion 88 online mall, they hosted a charity event “Fashion Gives Back”, where celebrity friends brought clothing for the homeless. The celebrity-filled evening was organized by Events by Contessa and Red Walk Talent PR and it took a village to make the night a success. “Our entire upstairs was literally filled with bags and bags for the homeless that the LA Mission sent a truck to pick everything up.”
Patrik Simpson is an executive producer and has a producing partner, Sarah Silikula on TV shows such as “Flying 7’s” which is about the world of rugby players and he’s working on developing another show called “Family effects”, which follows the exploits of a Hollywood special effects family business.
But if that isn’t enough, let’s not forget the adorable famous celebrity pooch of the pair who is a celebrity in her own right. SnowWhite, the famous “Pawsonality”, is always seen posing for the red carpet with the couple is not only an Instagram sensation, she has her own social media, her own clothing line called Snowwhite90210 and can be found on her site Snowwhite90210.com. She has a jewelry collection for dogs and their owners and well as her own puppy couture clothing line. She also just added actress to her resume as she has starred in two music videos, and her movie debut will be coming out soon with actress Renee Taylor, Lanie Kazan and Karina Smirnoff, called “Tango Shalom”. Her TV credits include a series for Lifetime TV, a show in the UK called “Pampered Pooches,” and “Bow Wow World” is a Japanese TV show which granted Snow White an invitation to visit Tokyo.

So any advice to those who want to launch their own fashion line or get into the industry?
“A lot of people don’t understand that it takes a lot of work. I can do a collection, but I only get fifteen-seconds of glory on stage at the end of a runway show. The rest of the time I am behind the scenes in the trenches in the back. So, you have to have the passion to sustain all of those challenges you’re going to be faced with in order for you to be able to come out on top. You have to follow your passion and if it inspires you then you will inspire other people and with that inspiration, love, and passion that you have you will already be a success,” says Atteu. “I say follow your dreams and if you dream, dream big because if you dream and follow those dreams everything else is going to follow afterward,” says Simpson. That is very good advice to me and very inspiring indeed.

Where can you find the PPBoyz Beverly Hills?

Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat,

@PolAtteu
@PatrikSimpson
@SnowWhite90210
@GownandoutBH

Or stop by their boutique Pol’ Atteu Boutique 9414 Dayton Way; Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Photography by: Bob Delgadillo and Tatsu Ikeda