Let’s go back and start at the beginning.
Fashion designer turned “Real Housewives of New York City” star Rebecca Minkoff credits MTV’s “Laguna Beach” with helping lead her brand’s early success.
Minkoff, 43, who rode with Page Six in Tri-State Cadillac’s iconic electric Lyric car during New York Fashion Week, explained how her father, a physician, inspired her to be featured on the first season of the hit reality show.
“There was a fashion show in LA, I think it was 2003 or 2004, and my dad said, ‘Hey, one of my patients’ sons is really interested in design, and he’s in this show,'” she said, referring to Trey Phillips, then a creative high school student who later became a designer for Vera Wang.
“‘It’s a reality show…’ Because of course we had no idea what it was. It’s called ‘Laguna Beach?’ Everybody wants to come, they want to film, they want a front row seat.”
Minkoff said he immediately responded to the opportunity.
“I was like, ‘Yeah, MTV. Of course!'” she exclaimed.
Minkoff first gained attention in the fashion world when she designed an “I Love NY” T-shirt worn by actress Jenna Elfman on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” in 2001. She continued to work hard to make her clothing more mainstream and felt that MTV could help her do so.
“I needed that! I looked like a country designer literally rubbing sticks together to get the show over,” she recalls.
“And then they came along and it appeared on the show and that really helped get the name out there.”
By 2005, Minkoff had shifted her focus to handbags after the debut of her signature “Morning After Bag,” aka “MAB.” But a rerun of “Laguna Beach” brought her ready-to-wear pieces into the spotlight, leading her to return to her roots four years later.
“The bags became popular, and we thought, ‘Let’s focus on this,’ so we stopped selling clothing,” she said. “Then ‘Laguna Beach’ came back on the air, and because of those reruns we started selling clothing again.”
While Minkoff is proud of her “Laguna Beach” cameo, she jokes that her only regret is “wearing too much makeup” in front of the camera.
Cosmetic faux pas aside, the experience sparked his long-lasting relationship with Lauren Conrad.
After “Laguna Beach,” the show’s star starred in the wildly popular spinoff, “The Hills,” from 2006 to 2009. The show’s star was a known fan of Minkoff’s designs, attending many fashion presentations and being photographed with her bags in the presence of paparazzi, which often featured in celebrity weekday magazines.
“I love Lauren Conrad. She’s always supported me,” said Minkoff, whose company has reportedly generated more than $100 million in revenue almost two decades after it was founded.
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“She was such an It girl, so it really meant a lot that she loved the brand so much,” added the fashion designer, 43. “It meant a lot.”
While Conrad, 38, has retired from reality TV, Minkoff is just entering the unscripted world as a “friend” of the cast of Season 15 of “RHONY.”
“It’s a new adventure,” she said of filming the New York-set version of the Bravo drama series.
“I love that my customers get to know me in a different way, and it’s been really great getting to know all the women here.”
“The Real Housewives of New York City,” which also stars Jenna Lyons, Jessel Turnke, Brynn Whitfield, Yuba Hassan, Erin Richie, Sy De Silva and Raquel Chevremont, will return on Tuesday, October 1 at 9 pm ET on Bravo.
