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subscribe to style file blog via RSSRebecca Minkoff Goes Back to the Lab
February 12, 2009 5:01 pm
It’s all coming full circle. Rebecca Minkoff started out designing clothes in 2001, but a good friend, the actress Jenna Elfman, prevailed on her to create a bag for an upcoming film. Thus was the Morning After bag born, and with it a booming business in the accessories trade. These days, Minkoff even claims an official fan club. Somewhere along the way, however, the clothes got scuttled. Now they’re back: Members of the Rebecca Minkoff fan club can rejoice in the fact that the designer is relaunching her apparel collection this week. And once again, Minkoff has been nudged along by a good friend, in this case the stylist Ilaria Urbinati. The two co-design the new Rebecca Minkoff sportswear label, which relaunched for Spring ‘09. The first collection will be offered solely through Minkoff’s Web site and at Confederacy, Urbinati’s store in L.A. “We wanted to have a laboratory where we could test the reaction to the clothes,” explains Minkoff. “You know, I have my customer who loves the bags, and I don’t want to alienate her. I feel like this way, my fans get the first crack.” That exclusivity won’t last too long—this evening, Minkoff and Urbinati are presenting their Fall ‘09 collection at Milk, alongside Minkoff’s new handbags. “We cover a lot of styles that are pretty basic, like T-shirts or a pair of black pants. But what we really like to do is incorporate kind of, well, random inspirations into details that will make people take that second look.” References for Fall include a photo of Bob Dylan in westernwear and several June Carter-ish dresses owned by Urbinati’s grandmother. “It’s not like we’re doing anything too out-there and western-themed,” notes Minkoff. “That’s just where we started, like, right now, it seems like Spring ‘10 might have something to do with Twilight. Sometimes,” she adds, “you just need that one little push that gets you going.”
tags: Ilaria Urbinati, Jenna Elfman, Rebecca Minkoff
