Rebecca Minkoff on Walking Away from RHONY and 20 Years of Staying Relevant

Twenty years into building her fashion empire, Rebecca Minkoff still remembers scraping by on a $23,000 salary. You have to love a woman with a stacked resume.” Minkoff is truly that girl! On this week’s episode of Let’s Be Honest, the founder, designer, and author of Fearless: The New Rules for Unlocking Creativity, Courage, and Success, opened up to host Kristin Cavallari about the gritty reality of launching a luxury brand, her stint on Real Housewives of New York City, and why Madonna is her inspiration for staying relevant.

“You have to be committed. You have to be in it for all the hard, ugly stuff, which is most of the time. There’s failures, hardships, and more nos than yeses. If you still can say I’m good with all that, then, then do it,” Minkoff says.

A New Fashion Landscape 

“It was so simple back then. I simply just had to find a celebrity I knew and for that person to wear it. Then, it would be in all of the magazines and the bags would sell,” Minkoff says of her early days in fashion. 

Cavallari and Minkoff quickly got into the changing dynamics of the fashion industry. Today’s landscape of paid partnerships and influencer marketing feels worlds away from 2005, when Minkoff designed her first hit: the Morning After Bag. 

When Minkoff first started, everything was organic: Back then, in a Sex in the City crazed culture, the most notable statement piece of any woman’s outfit was her bag. “It was the morning-after bag,” Minkoff laughs. “All of us wanted to have our morning-after walk of shame, and be proud, right? I think it hits a nerve with women in a way that they identify an experience with bags.”

Minkoff shared that women would remember the milestone of purchasing a first bag whether it was for “a walk of shame, a career promotion, a divorce, or a new guy. Whatever it is, women have that, like, ‘This was the bag that was here.’”

The Early Days of Becoming a Fashion Powerhouse

Today, the Rebecca Minkoff brand is known globally as an industry leader in accessible luxury handbags, accessories, and apparel that mixes playful, edgy designs with bohemian femininity. When they were first launching, Minkoff and her brother, Uri Minkoff, were running on fumes and worried about making rent.

“This was all being funded on my brother’s Amex. He mortgaged his house because we couldn’t get a traditional bank loan,” Minkoff says. “Funding wasn’t something people did back then. No one was raising money for their companies like they are today, and so it was just like rubbing nickels together every day.”

How to Stay Relevant as a Brand

Rebecca Minkoff has been in the echelon of fashion brands for more than 20 years. Cavallari leaned into how Minkoff and her brother have built such a long-lasting brand. The secret: the art of reinvention. “You can’t just do the same thing over and over. There’s no cookie cutter recipe.”

A perfect example of reinvention, Minkoff mentioned pop culture icon, Madonna: “She is the queen of reinvention. She has stayed true to who she is and her music, but she has constantly been in the zeitgeist with whatever’s happening.”

As a brand, Minkoff shares that she and her team are always asking, “‘What projects are we aligning with? What artists, musicians, and brand ambassadors? How are we storytelling?’ If you can get those things right, you can remain relevant.”

The brand plans to celebrate its 20th anniversary this year with several activations and partnerships. She also shared the importance of carving your own lane and having a distinct voice. “There’s no other brand you can follow. You have to create your own path, which is sometimes scary and risky.” 

Finding Balance in Career and Motherhood

As a mom of four kids, Minkoff juggles a lot in her day-to-day routine. She attests her success to her team, both in business and at home: “I have an incredible team within every aspect of my business, whether it’s my PR team, my social team, that continues to design and innovate while I’m gone.” 

It’s all about delegation. Minkoff prioritizes her schedule by asking herself what she can get off her plate. “In my home life, I have an incredible woman who does the dishes and the laundry because that’s something I’m never going to get to.”

Minkoff on Dropping a New Version of ‘Fearless’

Minkoff shared about the re-release of her book, Fearless, which was originally released as hardback during the pandemic. The updated paperback includes a bonus chapter about money. “Women don’t talk about money enough. We’ll talk about sex, relationships, family, and our kids. You’re not like, ‘How much did you make on that deal? Are you investing in anything good?’”

Since almost losing the business during the pandemic, Minkoff added more content to her book about what she’s learned and how they’ve rebuilt the company. “We sold the company to a strategic partner who had the muscle. It was the most exciting and scary experience.” 

In the future, Cavallari plans to take her lifestyle brand Uncommon James public to investors. To that, Minkoff advises, “I think if you have a great lawyer—someone advising you—then, it’s good. Don’t give up control.”

One and Done on ‘The Real Housewives of New York City’

Cavallari and Minkoff also got into the details of Minkoff’s short-lived foray on The Real Housewives. While the show helped to promote her brand, she had mixed emotions about sharing her personal life and how it might impact her company’s image. Ultimately, she chose to go on the show, while being very upfront about her intentions to stay away from the drama.

“I told the producers, ‘I’m not here to take other women down. I will not be gossiping behind their backs or coming up with petty stuff to attack them for. Then, it became something different, and that’s not who I am. It’s not what I stand for.”

Cavallari shared her respect for her decision to walk away. “I respect that. The cameras start rolling, and everyone is like, ‘Oh my god, I don’t even know what just happened.’ It brings out the worst in people.”

“I have zero regrets,” Minkoff adds. “It was great for my business and for being able to have a platform to celebrate 20 years. I got to learn something. I’ve learned my lesson, and I’m done.”

For more savvy business and life advice, check out the rest of this week’s episode of Let’s Be Honest.