Fashion Design Expert: How to Make Iconic Outfits & Make It Big in Fashion (Rebecca Minkoff)

0:00Sophia:Brand awareness is up 40 % since Housewives. Rebecca Minkoff, today you're an incredible fashion icon, but I'd love to go back to when you moved to New York City with no money, no connections. I thought I would show up and be this glamorous experience. It was not that. I didn't want something that in three months you'd be like, oh, she's still wearing that bag. And she said, we just got the bag to Lindsay Lohan. We are beyond pumped to have you here. Today, you're an incredible fashion icon, but I'd love to go back to when you moved to New York City with no money, no connections. What were you thinking, and how did the brand begin?

0:34So a lesson my mom instilled at me from the age of probably four when she was selling items at the swap meet was if you want something, you have to figure it out. So that's a skill she honed. She said no to me most of my life. If you want to figure it out was like this mantra. and I moved to New York not knowing like you said anything but it was like I'll figure it out I'll figure it out and that to me was my safety net so I moved with a paid internship I think it was three dollars and 25 cents an hour to work for a designer and I thought I would show up it'd be this glamorous experience and it was like the first day was organize a supply closet then you know go into the back supply room and ship everything and I was like I can't believe I moved to New York City for this but I was like I know how to work hard I'm just gonna stay quiet and prove myself.

1:16And I did. And they began to notice. And the CEO was like, huh, you're not just another pretty girl that he hired. That's what she said to me. And I was like, I'm not. How did you respond? I was like, I'm not just another pretty girl. Thank you for calling me pretty. And then she actually became an incredible mentor of mine.

1:32Sophia:And how did you go from being an intern to starting your own brand? So six months into the internship, I said, I deserve to be hired. I deserve to make$6 an hour. And I'd like you to put me in the design room. And I think I've proven myself. And she said yes. And then from there, because the internet didn't really exist, there was extra time because I was very efficient at the end of the day. And she would allow me the last hour or so of the day to like take the time to work on my own line. And I just started a very small collection. In high school, I learned the craft of sewing, pattern making, draping, design.

2:03So for me, that wasn't the hard part. It was, okay, well, if I'm going to work this hard, I want it to be my name. And so on the side, I would work on it. And just, it was like, to me, the most amazing thing I had ever created. And then tell us about after 9-11, you remixed the iconic I Love New York shirt. How did you come up with the idea and how did it go? Yeah, so this was pre-9-11. I was preparing for my first group show. It was a bunch of designers that didn't have enough money until we all partnered together. The show was set for September 10th. So I had the collection. It was five pieces.

2:36Let's just be honest here. One of them was an I Love New York shirt that I'd cut up and be dazzled. And, you know, DIY was a trend then. And I sent it to an actress who saw my sister-in-law in it. And I sent it to her on September 9th, 2001. And I thought she'll get it. And then I'll have my show on the 10th and the press of her wearing it somewhere. Obviously, what I didn't anticipate was September 11th. And so when she wore the shirt on Jay Leno and he said, oh my gosh, you know, who's this designer. And she said my name. That was like this wild experience where you're excited. You're also like terrified about what's happening.

3:13And I was like, all the proceeds go to the Red Cross. And I found one nascent e-commerce site actually down here called Raven Style. And she would give me a deposit. I'd go down to Canal Street, get the shirts and come home, cut them, sew them, iron on the crystals and then give them to her and she would sell them. And that was how it worked for nine months of my life.

3:33Sophia:And then you decided to bet it all on bags. Can you talk about the switch up of category and the morning after bag? Yes. So I did my apparel line for four years. I supplemented my income by being a stylist for commercials on the side. So I did the first commercial for Project Runway with Heidi Klum and Top Chef. And I had like a little business there that paid the bills, honestly, while I continued to go into credit card debt to fund my clothing line. And then I had an idea for a bag. And the same actress, Jenna Elfman, came back to me and she said, I need a bag for a film I'm doing. And the character is carrying the bag the whole time.

4:11So it'll be really good product placement for you. Again, pre-internet, there's just the magazines and TV. And I made two samples. One was for me to use for press for later once the movie came out. And one was for her. I sent it to her. FedEx didn't deliver it on time. Did not make the film. and I was like, I guess I just purchased my first designer bag. I started wearing it around town. I didn't know what to do. I was kind of like, had that like, I want to vomit, like gutted feeling. But so many women stopped me on the street. They're like, I love your bag. Who makes it? And this was at a time when the It bags were wild, like Murakami with the artwork on the Louis baton and the Stella McCartney bags and the Chloe Paddington.

4:54And my bag was sort of the antithesis of that. Like I didn't want a big label. I didn't want something that in three months you'd be like, oh, she's still wearing that bag. I wanted something that would be lasting with you, especially for the price point. Because at that time it was$500, which is not nothing. And I was like, let me just see what happens if I sell it. And a good friend of mine who's now a men's stylist, Delaria, put it in her store, Sateen in LA, and it blew out. And Daily Candy wrote about it. You guys might, have you heard of Daily Candy? Oh, yeah. Okay. So that was like, Oprah, Daily Candy, those were the two levers that like could boom something.

5:34And overnight, it was wild. Like they came back and said 75 bags and then boutiques started calling and then stores in Japan started calling. And I was like, let me ride with this. And that's one thing, like when you get that wind at your sails, like hold on and do everything you can to maximize it. So that was the transition into bags. It was like, buy clothing. We'll see you in a couple of years. And when did you cut doing the celebrity styling and go all in on the brand? I went all in on the brand about a year before the bags. The last job I had, a friend of mine was working for a really big celeb and she was like, come be my assistant.

6:07And I was like, I haven't been an assistant as a stylist in a long time, but I'll do it if you give her the bags. And she was like, deal. And when I got to the apartment to go like clean up her bathroom, the bags were squashed in a bin at the bottom. And I was like, this is it. I'm done. I am going all in and I am not going to just do this job anymore. You moved to New York basically as an outsider. You didn't really have connections. What do you think are the reasons why you were able to break into the fashion industry? And what advice would you have for other young women, especially who are interested in doing the same?

6:39Yeah. So fun fact, I still have all the business cards from when I moved here because I treated them like it was cash. Like I would, I was literally like, if I'm going to make it here and I know no one, I have to be networking. And not in that gross way that people like equate with like being like super obvious, but I was like, I got to meet people in the industry. So I went to any event I could, any free listing for something that was happening, I was there. And I would collect these cards. And at night, I would go home and be like, maybe this person can help me with X. And I just kept those relationships.

7:13What were the different things you wanted help with? Whether it was an editor or a store or a factory, that was kind of my focus at the time. I was like, these are the contacts I need to succeed. And so anyone who knew anyone in that realm was someone I was interested in talking to. Wow. And so you got these business cards and then you basically rung these people up. And then how did it go from there? So I think what you have to think about is being bold and asking and being very specific with what you ask. So if I met someone who said they knew an editor, I'd said, would you kindly do an introduction or could I send you something to send to them?

7:51And then you start to just build momentum. And then it becomes six degrees of separation for almost anyone in the industry. My first showroom, my first publicist, all of that came from all that networking. And I think when you are so excited about something, they get on board with that excitement. And so people wanted to help, you know, build the brand, even though like literally I didn't by myself in my living room.

8:17Sophia:That's incredible. Tell me about a connection from your Rolodex of business cards back then that you still have today. Oh, wow. OK, so Patrick Bradbury had a company called Bradbury Lewis. He was just starting out as a publicist. he worked out of like this shared rental space on the Lower East Side. And he would say to me, Teen Vogue is looking for a terrycloth jumpsuit, go. And I'd run uptown. This is when I had clothing. I'd run uptown, buy the fabric, make it, get it to him. And he'd turn it into the magazine. And we did this over and over and over again. And then if the magazine would run it, they'd let you know.

8:53I had three months. I'd give it to this website called Raven Style, Jill Licata, who again is down here. and she would order a couple. So we had this like system of like, okay, they want this go, they want this go. Because I had a sewing machine and I knew how to make everything. I just would deliver exactly what the editor wanted. And that probably got me a lot further than anything else is knowing how to do that.

9:15Sophia:And how did you get that in with him? How was he willing to give you all these incredible business leads? Well, I paid him$1 ,000 a month. And I was introduced to him through a woman who'd seen the clothing. And at the time she was like, let's take a chance like let's see what happens so he was doing that I had my outlet and then the showroom that introduced me Lisa would just keep getting me into smaller boutiques at the time and if you were starting all over from scratch what would be the most important things that you would do right now oh my gosh well today it's so different it's like a blessing and a curse I think your founder story your brand as a founder building in real time sharing that and then building community.

9:56You know, it's really different today. I built the brand off of celebrities, stylists I knew, magazines, TV. That landscape has shifted. It's gotten very expensive. Most stylists get paid to put their stuff onto their clients. And so I would just build a rabid, hungry community that is just obsessed with you and your product. And you have to be obsessed, you know, obviously with your product.

10:20Sophia:Let's talk about hiring and building a perfect team. who was the first hire you made? What would you say the most important hire you made was? And how did you learn over time to let people go? What did that look like? Oh, that was hard. So the first hire I made was, I call them a generalist. They could literally just help you with the to-do list. And she was someone that could run up town, check on the factory, make sure everything was happening, to buying zippers, to helping me do an invoice. I think in the beginning when you're drowning, that is an incredibly important hire, but they can't necessarily grow with you.

10:55Right. And you're going to have that moment where you're like, ooh, this was great, but it's not working anymore. The next most important hire was a designer who's still with me today. She's my creative director of 20 years. I was drowning in the back, but what I began to see is I needed to be more forward facing. So she was able to help run the design room and run that team. And I was still intimately involved, but the day-to-day details, she was taking care of. And I think when you're, I call it getting broken up with, I was on vacation when our first employee resigned, and I felt like I'd lost a family member.

11:30And I used to think with, we're going to be a family forever. And that's not the case. And these days, it's even harder. And I think it's about working with someone, building a relationship, knowing they're going to move on. And hopefully if they go upwards, that's because of the work you did with them. And so now I'm just always sad and happy. And like if I'm really obsessed with someone, I'll try my hardest to get them to stay. But there was a woman who got double the money. And what could I do? I was like, I love you and I can't match that. So we'll stay in touch.

12:05Sophia:That's a good attitude. This has been something that honestly me and Sophia have learned so much along the way. I remember the first time someone quit, I was devastated. Like I wanted to go to the bathroom and cry. And Sophia was like, we've got to keep moving. Like, because also at the time it was like, we were, again, we were a startup. They had gotten an offer from somewhere else. You know, it was literally triple the salary that we were paying them. And it was like, okay, let's roll up our sleeves and let's keep going. I still remember our, the first person we hired though, do you remember this?

12:33Sophia:Who's now our, one of our designers on our team is incredible. We were in our sophomore year at college and Sophia actually DM'd her. And got her to start doing social graphics for our Instagram account. And she's now come on as a product designer to our team. That's amazing. We started off paying her like what? You know, a monthly retainer just for Instagram posts. And built up the account in the community around fashion long before we launched. And she must have been a freshman in college when we first reached out. Yeah, I mean, I think it's interesting you said that because there's definitely two cases.

13:04Which is one, you hire someone, you take a bet on them when they're younger. And then they actually end up growing with you. And I definitely would say that we feel very fortunate. There's been a number of people that we've really had that experience with, because even for Phoebe and myself, I mean, we've grown so much over the last two years. And so it's nice to see that that, of course, has been mirrored by people around us.

13:30and uh on a kind of similar train of thought i was curious for your perspective on you're obviously also hiring right now you're growing your business and what are the skills that you think that other young people who want to break into fashion should have to be able to be very effective in in breaking into their first job so maybe this sounds controversial but i think you have to show that you don't have the typical boundaries I've seen some young people have. So it is the working late night, the working of the weekends. As a small company, which I still consider we're a small company, there's just things that have to get done that sometimes aren't in your job description.

14:10And to hear someone say, well, that's not in my job description, it's like, uh-uh. That's not who I want to hire. People say that. Oh, yeah. We've had that happen. They're not with us anymore. Or even like, I have to leave at five. And I think that I'm not asking by any means anyone to work all weekend and be available like every night, like how it used to be in the fashion industry. Like you worked till 11. You know, my youthful era was like, you worked crazy. So we don't ask that, but I think we ask the bare bones of, you know, during a big event or a launch or something like that. And then I think it's that initiative.

14:44It's that I had an idea or I know this wasn't what you asked me, but here are some creative ways to do something. And then problem solving. I think when someone comes to you and is like, what do you want me to do about this? What do you think about this? I don't want to have to think. I love it if someone's like, I got this all laid out and here's what is. I think to me, those are the people that stand out. And then in terms of getting that first foot in the door, how do you think the people can approach that? I mean, say, for example, someone really wanted to work at your brand. How can they find an email?

15:14How do you go about that initial wedge? Right now, I know it's really hard. And I know that AI is like weeding out a lot of resumes. So I'll tell someone to get really creative in how you approach someone. So it's not just I DM'd you on LinkedIn. It's I saw you were speaking. I came up to you at that event. I handed you my resume. Or I said, hey, I'd like to email you. This is why I feel qualified. Or I learned this about you. And this is why I'm perfectly suited to. I also say you can't give up because I tell people to email their resumes every quarter because you never know when someone needs something.

15:47Like we're not hiring right now, but maybe in three months I'll need a role. And so don't give up. And I would also say to be networking and schmoozing and like getting to know people, even when you're not looking for a job. So if you're in a job, just keep that network open because you never know when you might need a job or you might want to jump. And then it's kind of there. It's same with fundraising. Like, always be fundraising. Don't need the money. And I'm sure you've felt that.

16:13Sophia:No, I had a friend who just went viral recently. This is crazy. But he's been obsessed with David Dobrik his entire life. Really, really wanted a job with David Dobrik. Found that David Dobrik was going to be at this airport, I think, in Spain. Camped out the airport for days. And then found David Dobrik and was like, if I do this magic trick properly, will you give me a job interview? and he secured a job interview and the video ended up going viral. And it was interesting because all of the comments were like just talking about how difficult the job market is right now or what lengths people have gone to to go get these opportunities.

16:47Sophia:Another friend who flew to San Francisco and put in their resume after being rejected to get the interview. And so it's really, really interesting to see. I'm curious for you, what's something crazy you've done to get your foot in the door, whether it was, you know, getting your product on a celebrity, getting introduced to somebody. I'd love to understand that. I think a fun story is in Lindsay Lohan's heyday, there were the things called gifting suites. So people would pay. I didn't pay because I knew the owner. But you'd pay to like set up a booth. The celeb would come by. They'd like take whatever product they wanted and leave.

17:22And so I think we're at the Pierre Hotel. And I went to the bathroom. and in that five minutes I was in the bathroom, Ilaria, who was manning the booth for me, was like, we just got the bag to Lindsay Lohan. And I'm like, what? She's like, she came by, but she only stopped at like the two luxury booths. But I knew she needed the bag. So I ran out and I put in her hands right as she left the Pierre Hotel and the paparazzi like swarmed. And that picture was used over and over and over again. And that was like wild and crazy and like, you never know what happens, But that was like helped again launch the bag.

17:56I've seen so many TikToks now of people doing that. They will go and find a celebrity and then they'll give them like a hat or something like that from their brand. And then they take a photo and then they use it over and over again. Yeah. Is there anything else you've seen from other people around you or in your network, like some hustle that really impressed you? Oh, my gosh. Well, I think Michelle Grant, the founder of Gorgie, I think her hustle is like, whoo. And just watching how she's strategically partnering with Alex Earl or how she does her events and how she's tapped into community in such an important way.

18:31And that's not lost on me that she did that with Lively before that, built a community even before she had a product. And that is something that if you're sitting here listening, you're like, I don't even have a product yet. Like build a community around the idea of a product, like get people excited about what could be. And to me, that's really exciting and fun that if I were launching again, I would probably do that. How do people build a community? I think you find a pain point. You begin to talk about what your solution is to that pain point. And you bring people onto the journey. You know, like, here's me day one.

19:02This is my idea. This is the pain point. I think maybe people worried about being copied or someone's going to get to it faster. But I just think, like, just try it. There's a million white t-shirt companies. I think there's room.

19:14Sophia:When did it feel like for you, like, this is real, like I'm succeeding right now? Oh, my gosh. It depends what your definition of succeeding is. Because when I didn't have to call my bank to see if I could afford to, like, eat out, that was success. Or when I could go on vacation and, like, not be like, can I pay rent? That was success. I think there, as you become more successful, there's different things that signal, at least to me, success. Now success is I can be with my children and not be thinking about work. You know, and so I think it changes. But I think there's many moments, you know, when we when we closed down Green Street and had our first public show and used real women as models like that to me was incredible.

19:56Sophia:Can we talk about COVID when you were pregnant, on the phone with your bank, going through difficulties with business, you know, your business, it fell 70 percent. How did you manage during that time and what core decisions did you make as an executive and as a leader to get the business back into, you know, crazy growth mode? So prior to COVID, my co-founder, my brother and I, we were being told you need to cut the team. You're too big. Like, and we were like, everyone is so critical. There's not a single person we can cut. We had about 60 people at the time. COVID hits and you're like, okay, we can, not in a gross way, but like you have to go, you have to go, you have to go.

20:35And you immediately see what's critical. And after losing every single account we had, which was the majority of our business at the time, we just had our website. We could only live and eat off of our website. And so the daily mind shift of not what did Nordstrom Sachs or Neiman's do, but what did we do today? And that's what we can pay our bills on became the focus. We had to do, obviously, layoffs, pay cuts. My brother and I for went, you know, 30 % of our salaries. So it was almost like we called it day trading is what do we do today and how do we strengthen our relationship with the customer?

21:08So that was my goal and job is like I need an entertainer. So I had happy hours every day, lives on Instagram. You know, we did a lot of podcasts around what was going on then. And I think it was just connecting with her, keeping her around, and then listening. So we began to see spikes in categories that we weren't focused on. Sweatshirts with a little puff or earrings and jewelry, which no one had ever cared about. And so we said, okay, she has nowhere to go, so the bags might slow down. but let's really make sure that she can have as many puff sleeve sweatshirts as possible in every color. And like, let's really blow up jewelry.