Have you ever seen a chic Manhattan mom strutting through Central Park with her well-dressed tots in tow, the picture of cool, effortless style…and wondered what she was wearing? Chances are, she’s clad in various high-end designers, with a Rebecca Minkoff blazer, bracelet, or bag to complete the look. From Britney Spears to Brooke Shields, influential women everywhere are donning the New York City-based designer’s goods to add a bit of refined edge to their wardrobes. And, most recently, new moms across the country have been lucky to snatch up one of Minkoff’s newest creations—a line of nursing tank tops—as part of their breastfeeding wardrobes.
On a recent summer afternoon, the Rebecca Minkoff offices in the fashionable Flatiron District are teeming with excitement. “All of our new stuff is arriving for spring. It’s like Christmas!” the brand’s founder says. The tanned and heeled Minkoff seems a natural ocean of calm, but it’s easy to tell that she’s excited about her hot new merchandise.
Amidst half-opened boxes filled with fresh leather bags, she shares how it all began. Nearly eight years ago, Hollywood actress Jenna Elfman asked her to create a handbag for a movie character. Having already launched her own line—a five-piece apparel collection—Minkoff was confident and up to the task: “I lied and said, ‘Yes, I know how to do a bag.’”
The result? The eponymous brand’s ever-popular Morning After Bag, which can still be found on the arms of leading ladies like Jessica Alba and Reese Witherspoon.
In spite of a delivery mishap, preventing the bag from making its silver-screen debut, Minkoff found an immediate audience for her new design. “A friend of mine who was a writer for DailyCandy and a buyer for a store in L.A. was like, ‘I’ll write about it; I’ll buy it.’ So that was a very lucky, fortuitous thing,” Minkoff notes. Lucky may be an understatement. “Basically, it sold out and we’ve been growing ever since.”
As a leading handbag designer with one of the most sought-after fashion labels, Minkoff knows the power of measured, timely expansion. She has skillfully conquered new categories, including footwear, apparel, jewelry, and even men’s leather goods, while regularly reinventing herself. A few years ago, Minkoff’s Knocked Up Baby Bag for women found popularity amongst those not wanting to sacrifice fashion for motherhood. Her more recent Luca Pouch—named after her son—is a nylon carryall that can be toted by itself or inserted into a regular day bag. It’s a small accessory that does a lot, with pouches perfect for holding bottles, snacks, and other mommy essentials.
“I have two wishes,” Minkoff says. “To design for my customer—what she needs and wants. And I tend to be more of a minimalist with the baby [gear].”
The style icon’s newest collaboration with Bravado Designs—the respected, 20-year-old nursing bra brand—is a big step in the right direction as part of her embrace of motherhood.
“I announced my baby being born through Twitter, and, a couple of hours later, Bravado Tweeted me, ‘Do you need any maternity bras?’ And I hadn’t bought any!” Minkoff recalls.
The new mom jumped at the opportunity to become a “Bravado Mama”; she wanted one of everything that the company made. “They were really comfortable,” she says. “Actually, it’s all I wear now.”
A year after her son’s birth, Minkoff has teamed up with Bravado to create the Limited Edition Essential Nursing Tank to benefit Baby Buggy—Jessica Seinfeld’s non-profit that gives families in need essential products and services for children ages 0-12.
“[Baby Buggy was] introduced to Bravado through our supporter Julia Beck [Founder of the strategy firm focused on reaching the new and expectant parent market] Forty Weeks a few years back,” says Executive Director of Baby Buggy Katherine Snider. “We were all fans of Rebecca Minkoff, so we approached her. Not only is she a brilliant designer, but she is a mother who really cares about the health and safety of children.”
“There seems to be a great commonality between fashion and philanthropy,” Snider continues. “On a very basic level, both aim to make people feel better.”
For the most part, Minkoff is maintaining the integrity of the tank’s original design, while adding one of her signature styles—color blocking. The effect is a modern take on a classic silhouette, which pulls inspiration from the designer’s handbags.
“[The collaboration] is really about making women feel good about themselves,” echoes Bravado Designs Managing Director Kathryn From. “Rebecca’s whole approach—from her accessories to her clothing—really fits with the overall philosophy of what we want to do. And [she] adds that edge to it, that element of fun.”
Baby Buggy’s mission, combined with Bravado’s passion for breastfeeding and helping new moms, presents Minkoff with a perfect opportunity to make a difference as a trendsetter. And considering the increase in the child poverty rate in the U.S. over the past four years, the team has their work cut out for them. But they’re off to an impactful start, with plans to contribute 20 percent of the product’s sales to Baby Buggy, along with a donation program that gifts a mother in need with a Bravado bra or tank each time someone buys a Limited Edition Tank.
But Minkoff’s dedication to helping other parents is not all that surprising. Her pregnancy was “somewhat adventurous,” in her own words—including a diagnosis of gestational diabetes and other complications—but she was able to have the natural labor that she wanted. Immediately after she gave birth to baby Luca, a friend brought Minkoff a requested box of doughnuts. The exhausted, elated designer ate twelve of them in two days.
At six weeks, she was ready to go back to work—but her return to the design offices wasn’t business as usual. Before her son was born, Minkoff would be working until nine or ten o’clock on most nights. And she kept at it until the day she was ordered home—three days before giving birth. “[Now], most days, I leave at six no matter what,” she notes. “I pride myself on being as involved as I can be as a mom.”
Some evenings, Minkoff brings Luca to work events just so she can be with him. And she’s a lot stricter with how she allocates her time, forgoing nights out on the town for dinners at home with friends and family. “The only thing I haven’t figured out is how exercise fits in,” she says with a smile.
Motherhood seems to suit Minkoff. Her partnership with her husband, actor and director Gavin Bellour, makes parenting while running a fashion powerhouse actually manageable. “He’s a freelancer, so he’s more flexible,” she says. “[Plus], I’ve been told by many women that he’s a much more involved father.”
When it comes to Baby Luca, Minkoff and Bellour are decidedly easygoing, yet alert. He’s made playground visits in pajamas, and weekly storytimes are one of his favorite activities. “He’s so easy as a baby. We treat him as our friend and our cohort, versus a little child—and he acts that way,” the 31-year-old mom says. “He’s funny; he’s very smart; he’s clever. He loves engaging with people,” Minkoff continues. “And he’s crawling everywhere!”
That kind of newborn energy runs in the family. With Minkoff expanding her global lifestyle brand to encompass everything from stilettos for navigating the sexy single scene to nursingwear for managing motherhood, it’s hard to predict just how she’ll reinvent herself next season. It’s easy to imagine her making chic childrenswear or nursery accessories. But we’ll leave that decision to the design pro.
For more information, visit bravadodesigns.com and babybuggy.org
