Fashion designer Rebecca Minkoff on 2020 NYFW going virtual

Fashion designer Rebecca Minkoff joins The Final Round to discuss the virtually virtual 2020 New York Fashion Week, her recent curation for Lowe's, and the impact of COVID-19 and the fight for racial justice on the fashion industry.

Video Transcript

JENNIFER ROGERS: New York Fashion Week starts on Sunday. Yes, there is going to be a New York Fashion Week. I want to bring in Rebecca Minkoff. She's a designer. Rebecca, I mean, it's incredible, I almost feel like, that this is getting pulled off at all.

I want to ask you, because retail has just had so much stress coming out of the pandemic. We are constantly reporting on different bankruptcies. We had Lord and Taylor in July. And just, yesterday, this week, I mean, Century 21. Century 21-- I used to go there all the time.

I mean, I remember the one that used to be at Ground Zero. They still have that there, but it was closed. Anyhow, it's mind-boggling to me.

As somebody in the fashion industry right now, can you just-- what is the mood like among people at Fashion Week? I mean, it has to have changed from the heyday of when it was "Sex and The City" and Bryant Park, right? Is it like a wake there? Or still feels like a celebration?

REBECCA MINKOFF: So, first of all, I remember that Century 21. That's where I got my first coat when I was 18 and moved to New York City. So that has a very meaningful event for me because I came from Florida, and it was quite a different weather. Fashion Week is definitely different this year. But I think for those of us who decided to participate, to be part of it, we need to bring the economy back in all areas.

And the only way we're going to do that is by getting back to business. And so when I have the opportunity to show at Fashion Week, hire people, work with talent, not only does the economy need this, but our community needs it, you know. And there's a way to do this safely. We're taking so many precautions so that everyone can be safe. Everyone is being tested.

Everyone will have masks. You know, we're spacing out the arrivals, you know, 15 people every 15 minutes. So you're not going to have the 1,000 people trying to get in anymore. But you're going to have, you know, the people that you need to be there, the guests that are there to write about it, to see about it, to create content about it. And then the digital activation is what really kicks in, so that anyone who didn't make it or who doesn't feel comfortable can still see it on the back end.

So I think where there is a will, there is a way. And I think for those of us who have had the will, we are-- we are saying, you know, it's different, but we've got to do this because New York City is known as the fashion capital of the world. And we got to-- we got to represent.

DAN ROBERTS: Rebecca, Dan Roberts here. I know for Fashion Week, you've partnered up with Lowe's. And a couple other fashion names have.

And it's a little bit of a surprising partnership. I mean, when you think of New York Fashion Week, you do not think of Lowe's, normally. So I'd ask what that does for you and for your brand, and whether that represents a kind of a shift?

REBECCA MINKOFF: Yeah, so I think when you imagine, you know, most large cities, people move there, you know, to a shoe box. And their home is really what's happening outside, right. And so for me to be able to work with Lowe's and say, yes, fashion is at home. We are wearing our Zoom-worthy sweatshirts and our Zoom earrings. And, now, we're worried about our office spaces and what all that looks like, how do we say, as part of, you know, my love letter, my set is really all about the places that I love going to-- the music halls, the venues, the back stages.

And then my curation, which is, I think, what you're showing on the screen is what this girl comes home to, or what I like to come home to in my turf. And so, you know, I think Lowe's has done an incredible job of partnering with me, and Christian Siriano, and Jason Wu to really bring each designer's perspective to life and say, you know, now that we're all working from home, we're looking with a magnifying glass at everything that's wrong with our office spaces, sometimes my bathroom floor. And so I think it made perfect sense. And as a designer to bring the sensibility of my creation to home is something that's been long-wanted and really exciting to do.

MELODY HAHM: Rebecca, we have to give you some props because you have been well-positioned, right, for accessible luxury. And I think you didn't take the snobby approach of, perhaps, some very high-end designers, who really kind of resisted the e-commerce craze, didn't want to be on Amazon, wanted to make sure to protect the brand. As we endure this COVID pandemic, how do you anticipate that structure changing? Do you think that big fashion houses will have to democratize their products, as they figure out, OK, we can't just appeal to a very small niche subset anymore?

REBECCA MINKOFF: For sure, I mean, you saw it happen when Vogue announced the partnership with Amazon and curated designers to be on Amazon. And, suddenly, now, it was OK. We had already begun and have had dialogue prior to that with Amazon. So we have our own store there. But I think, you know, when you're hit with, suddenly, your business shrinking, you know, in a day or two by almost 70%, do you want to stay alive or not?

And what does that mean? And so while some brands can afford to protect their brand equity by not doing certain things, we wanted to survive. We wanted to keep our staff.

We wanted to remain apart of the community. And so what does that take? And, for me, I'd rather be in business, you know, than not, and work with people who believed in me, and didn't abandon me in a dire time.

JENNIFER ROGERS: We're dealing with these dual issues this year-- we have the pandemic and we also have the fight for racial justice. Every industry has been going through this reckoning. What's happening with the fashion industry?

REBECCA MINKOFF: So the fashion industry is definitely having a reckoning. I think, you know, it can't be the call to action of just hire Black models. It's who is in your organization at executive leadership that is Black or BIPOC, right. Where is the representation, not just on the surface? And I think Aurora James from Brother Vellies, who launched the 15 Percent Pledge has done an incredible, incredible job of taking these huge corporations to task.

We know money is power. And if you can tell these corporations that have billions of dollars at their disposal to buy brands-- you know, buy Black, buy Latin-owned brands, you know, really say, here are our dollars and we're going to invest in these communities. So I think the fashion industry needs to do a lot more than that. And they can start by taking the pledge and looking internally and saying, OK, are we represented properly? It's not just what you put on your Instagram.

JENNIFER ROGERS: Well, where there's a will, there's a way. Lots of work to be done. But New York Fashion Week, as you said, getting going. You guys are going to do it. It's exciting for New York.

REBECCA MINKOFF: Yeah, we're all excited.

JENNIFER ROGERS: I wish we we were all there in person with those ladies and their really nice shoes walking by me. Rebecca Minkoff, it's fantastic to see you. Have a good weekend.

REBECCA MINKOFF: Thank you. You too.