On Values and Vulnerability: Rebecca Minkoff

From apparel to handbags, Rebecca Minkoff’s designs are described as personifying ‘downtown romantic sensibility and Bohemian rocker style.’ It’s the kind of clarity you don’t achieve, especially in the highly competitive fashion industry, unless you’ve built and evolved your brand with the same care you’ve put into designing and launching your products.

In her talk with Jesse, Rebecca discusses her journey as a brand founder— from being the brand to needing to expand and articulate the brand’s product signatures and core values. She describes the inequities that led her to launch the Female Founder Collective and launch the Superwomen podcast. She talks about her efforts to normalize kindness and inclusion in the fashion industry, and she identifies her own secret sauce as a leader and mother for balancing vulnerability with indomitable spirit.

(3:27) Taking her brand from organic growth to purposeful expressions

(6:30) What was different about launching a fashion brand in 2005? And where is the industry headed now?

(9:37) Launching the Female Founder Collective

(14:12) Highlighting the importance of diversity and addressing the impact of the pandemic on women in the workplace

(19:57) Hosting the Superwomen podcast: opening up the conversation for vulnerability

(22:55) Lightning round: Get to know Rebecca and her secret sauce

Guest Bio

After developing an affinity for design while in the costume department in high school, Rebecca Minkoff moved to New York City at only 18 years old to pursue her dream of becoming a fashion designer. In 2001, Rebecca designed a version of the “I Love New York” t-shirt as part of a five-piece capsule collection. Today, Rebecca Minkoff is a global brand with a wide range of apparel, handbags, footwear, jewelry and accessories—playful and subtly edgy designs that integrate the elements of bohemian femininity with a little bit of rock ‘n’ roll.

In September of 2018, she established the Female Founder Collective, a network of businesses led by women that invests in women’s financial power across the socio-economic spectrum by enabling and empowering female-owned businesses.

Helpful Links

• Rebeccaminkoff.com
• Femalefoundercollective.com
• CNBC: How Rebecca Minkoff Started Her Business with $10,000 and an Appetite for Risk
• Rebecca’s podcast: Superwomen
• Rebecca on LinkedIn and Twitter