REBECCA MINKOFF chats with The Stylish City!

Do you die for Rebecca Minkoff? So do we. Her hot Spring 2011 collection was previewed during Fashion Week, which sadly ends today **sigh**, but lucky for The Stylish City fashionistas, you can order two of the most lusted after pieces from her Spring 2011 collection! The pieces include the black Quilted Affair bag with a cross body gold chain as well as the beautifully colored Rumi Dress, modeled by, and named after, Rumi Nelly, fashiontoast blogger.

The Stylish City was lucky enough to talk to the wonderful Rebecca Minkoff amidst the hectic throws fashion week has to offer. She tells us what inspires her to design the bags and apparel we all love as well as what’s new for her ever evolving brand.

TSC: You are a California girl but your first success is attributed to an “I Love NY” t-shirt. Why New York?

RM: I’ve always had an admiration for New York, even when I was very young- it was the place you went to “make it”. In high school I was a dancer and my dance teachers would tell me that I was too tall, too long, and I threw off the symmetry of the group. Because of my height and my long arms, they put me in the costume department. It was a performing arts high school and had an intense costume department- so I started learning in depth how to make patterns, construct and drape garments. By the time I was 17, I wasn’t interested in college. My brother knew Craig Taylor (a fashion designer) and contacted him to get me an internship for the summer. At 18, I moved to NYC to begin the internship and I worked with Craig Taylor for two years- they allowed me to work on my own clothing line when I had free time during the day and then the rest is history…

TSC: You became successful very young and without following the usual FIT path. Do you think successful designers are born or made?

RM: I think everyone is different in terms of what suits them, whether it’s being self taught or receiving a college degree. At the end of the day it’s about passion and being driven. If you are passionate and driven, I think it leads to success.

TSC: Aside from being completely obsessed with your designs I also love the names you give your bags, do you come up with them?

RM: I like to have a playful take on my bags. My bags may be named after a girl or a story- each season has a theme, and bags named after that theme. I think a girl can buy into an experience. Inside each bag, there is a card with a picture of a boy with a phone number, so that every girl has a number of a guy to call. It works too! You can call and leave messages to Vincent, who has a sexy French accent.

TSC: Do you find yourself having a different inspirational theme each season?  If so, where did you find inspiration this past season?

RM: My inspiration comes from travel. I’m constantly taking pictures and absorbing cultures. I recently came back from a vacation in Turkey and being exposed to the different cultures, I think is pretty inspiring.

The Spring 2011 collection is an homage to the ultimate femme vagabond—a woman yearning for glamour and transfixed by reconstructed vintage and 70s-inspired frocks that include traces of seductress Bianca Jagger and the late, soulful Janis Joplin.  

TSC: You have a large celebrity following, which is sought after in fashion PR. Do you accredit a lot of your success to the recognizable names who are faithful to your brand?

RM: I am very fortunate to have such an incredible fan base and we have an amazing celebrity following. I’m always flattered when they wear the collections.

TSC: After four years of accessories you returned to your original passion for apparel design in 2009 with a ready-wear collection. What is next for Rebecca?

RM: For the spring 2011 season, the Rebecca Minkoff brand has launched two additional collections: women’s shoes and men’s accessories! The women’s shoe collection will consists of booties, platform pumps, flats and sandals- totaling 25 various styles and color ways. The men’s accessories collection, under the Ben Minkoff label was inspired by my grandfather Ben Minkoff and his career as a combat fighter pilot in WWII. The pieces were created around the early map, messenger and motorcycle bags used in the air force during the 1940s. Overall, the possibilities are endless for the brand and I’m so excited to see what happens next…!

By Caitlin Colford

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Posted by Caitlin Colford at 01:28 PM
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