To celebrate the 20th anniversary of her iconic fashion brand, Rebecca Minkoff reflects on her journey from aspiring designer to a household name. In an interview with James Lane Post, she shares insights about the early days of her career, the bumps along the way, her experience on “Real Housewives of New York,” and her commitment to supporting female entrepreneurs.
Let’s talk about the 20th anniversary of the brand. Can you tell us about the early days and how everything really took off?
I’d say that the early days were probably more exciting than stressful. I had been designing clothing for about four years from 2001 to 2004. And when the bag hit, it was finally like, “Oh, thank God, it’s not just me pushing.” It was really like this groundswell of people just wanting the product and couldn’t get enough. And so for me, that was just everything you ever want as a designer, someone’s finally like, “Yeah, I like your shit.” It seems like forever ago, but I still look back so fondly on those moments.
Did you always know you wanted to be a designer?
I didn’t always know. I definitely loved crafting from a young age. I was making jewelry and trying to sell it, or making puffy paint sweatshirts, or spin art. I was always kind of creative. And when I finally got my hands on a sewing machine and learned how to sew, that was an unlock for me. I was a very thin kid. I was bullied for it. And so the fact that I could make clothes to fit me or alter them to fit me was a really empowering. I think if I’m being honest, I would’ve loved to have been a modern dancer, but only if I could have been like Alvin Ailey level. When I realized I’d never be that good… design was the next best thing.
So you moved to New York when you were 18 and started working in fashion immediately?
I did. I had a paid internship with a guy named Craig Taylor, and he paid me like three bucks an hour. But still, it allowed me to get my foot in the door. And I really did everything as an intern, which was great. They had me always moving around and helping out different departments. And so that was great because I got to learn what I thought at the time was the whole business. Clearly, I was naive and didn’t understand one thing about business, but I got to get a taste of what that would be like.
What were some of the challenges during the early days of your brand?
Financing. Money. In the early days, it was just me. When the store buys and the check clears, that’s all the money you have to get the next batch going, and eat, and pay rent. It’s hard to hire someone when you don’t have that kind of cash flow. And then I would say hiring, learning how to delegate, and what to delegate.
Money was the biggest thing. And I think for almost every woman I encounter who’s starting a business, it’s money. It costs money to start a business. It costs money to keep it going, and it’s just hard.
What do you have planned for the summer collection? Are you doing anything special to celebrate 20 years?
I wanted the celebration of 20 years to last the whole year with different pulse points. First was the collaboration with Erin Andrews for the Super Bowl — this really cool moto jacket. We are planning more things for Q4 together as a collab. At the same time, I relaunched my book in paperback. We’re likely going to do some sort of fun dinner this summer, still in the planning phases. And then I have a couple of things up my sleeve for the end of the year.
I wanted to ask about the Female Founders Collective. What inspired you to start it in 2018?
Sheer loneliness. I think within the fashion industry, it was incredibly competitive. Like, there could only be one handbag designer, not two. And I, coming into the industry as a real outsider, I genuinely felt like there was room for everybody, and it didn’t need to be like that. When I started listening to women’s stories and how hard it is for them, I thought: You know what? The power of community, the power of women coming together to support each other, will help us bridge the gaps that exist for us.
My co-founder, Alison Wyatt, and I really wanted to make sure that women were getting the education that none of us get when we go to start a business. You know, if someone had taught me how to cost properly or how to manage a P&L early on, there would’ve been a lot less mistakes, and I probably wouldn’t have gone $60,000 in debt to do this. And so I think our goal with the collective is it’s a group of women there to support each other, but then it’s education-based, where we’re getting the best of the best to give their time to teach these women all the unsexy parts of business.
Is there one piece of advice that you’d give to a female founder starting out today?
What I would say, and I say this a lot, so I hope I don’t sound like a broken record, is that there are no shortcuts in business. There are a lot of shortcuts in life. I think we’re used to everything now at the click of a button, but your career is a long game. If I knew it would take 20 years to get to where I am, I would’ve not checked my email on the weekends and worked 90-, 120-hour weeks, or never taken a vacation in the beginning.
I think we’ve been hooked on this drug that you’re going to have a million dollars in five years. No, you’re not. So get used to it and make sure you love what you do enough that if that doesn’t happen in five years, that’s also okay.
Let’s talk about “Real Housewives.” Was the experience what you expected?
Well, the experience was definitely not what I expected. I’m not interested in women-bashing, that’s not who I am. It’s not my brand, it’s not what I stand for. [I was told the show] wanted to tell the genuine stories of these eight diverse women, all with different backgrounds, all self-made.
So to me, knowing we were all self-made, I thought, “Great, we’re going to showcase the natural drama that occurs in my life and her life, but it’s not going to be necessarily between us.” And so I went into it, and that’s kind of why I was excited about it. Like, let’s finally show other successful women who are juggling it all and the shit that goes along with it. And then I very quickly surmised, probably after filming the second time, that, oh, that’s not what’s happening here. So for me it was like, above all, how do I stay true to myself and how do I, you know, get out of this alive.
I did share so much, and it was just all edited out. When people are like, she didn’t share, I’m like, actually I did, but I don’t control the edit. We had a Female Founder Collective with 60 incredible, amazing, talented women, where there was no fighting. We were all supporting each other.
Do you think the show introduced your brand to a new group of people? Has it been positive in that way?
It’s been positive. The traffic to the site was unbelievable. Tripled every Tuesday, doubled Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Women my age group know who I am, but I feel like I got an entirely new age range and demo through that time. So that was great, but it just wasn’t worth it, continuing to not be true to myself and who I am.
Let’s talk about your time spent in the Hamptons. How do you like to spend your time with your family? Are there any favorite places you like to go? What does a perfect day look like?
A perfect day to me starts out with a workout at Post House with either Walter or one of his great team members. That’s about a seven-minute drive from me. And then it’s usually like a great brunch with the family. I love Sag Pizza. They have a really great gluten-free pizza. And then it’s a beach day for the most part. Sometimes we’ll go to the Amagansett Dunes, or Main Beach, if we want to have easy access to bathrooms and food. Evenings, usually there’s a cocktail party somewhere. And then at night, it’s either a bonfire or barbecuing at home. You know, the kids can swim. We love entertaining when we’re out there. So we’ll usually have a family or two families over. I try to stay away from the heavily crowded areas.
