Rebecca Minkoff Hasn’t Made a “Single Dime” Off Her Feminist Tees

For the millions of women who own Rebecca Minkoff bags, the brand’s messaging—”truth to power, but make it fashion”—is part of the charm. From Instagram to online, the American designer loves mixing quotes and advice with shots of pretty shoes. For fall 2018, she takes it a step further by launching We Are Many, a brand manifesto that takes the idea of inclusion inwards.

“We realized that most women’s messaging is directed at us being one thing,” she says. “You hear things like, ‘Be ambitious. Be fearless. Lean in.’ When you talk about a woman, you’re talking about many complicated things and many complicated roles that she plays. So what if we talked to women as multi-faceted people? And also, what if we acknowledge that there are many women just as complicated as we are? Barriers break down when you realize there are people like you.”

Those people include Minkoff’s new campaign faces, including plus-size model Clementine Desseau, teen entrepreneur and activist Deja Foxx, and singer Roxiny Rivas, who posed while visibly pregnant. Proceeds from the ads’ limited edition signature shirt ($58) will be divided towards five different women’s charities, and Minkoff proudly says, “I haven’t made any money off my messaging. Not a single dime. We made a huge donation to the Women’s March [with last season’s t-shirt profits], and we got over 1000 books into libraries. It’s one thing if you’re selling a shirt and you don’t do anything. If 100 percent goes to something, I feel good about that.”

There’s another reason Minkoff stans merchandized feminism: “For women who feel they can’t speak out, at work or at school, wearing messaging on their clothes is their way of showing they stand for something. I don’t look at any [feminist fashion] as bad, because someone else sees that shirt pass them, and says, ‘Yeah I agree!’ Our shirts can be a tipping point for conversation and change… Otherwise, what are you supposed to do? Be like, ‘I’m only a feminist on the weekends?’”

But what if feminism and capitalism can’t mix? What if fashion defines beauty, beauty creates unearned power, and that oppression strangles us all? “I don’t buy into the idea that if you care about your appearance, you’re not a feminist,” she answers. “Looking great and working towards a better world, those aren’t mutually exclusive.”

Rivas in the I Am Many campaign for Rebecca Minkoff.

Rebecca Minkoff

For her career success and her social justice support, Minkoff is proud to be a role model. But she doesn’t want to be the only one. “I want to take away this idea that you hope the CEO of a Fortune 500 company is going to be your mentor,” she laughs, “and hand you success on a silver platter. My mentors were the guy in the logistics department at my old job, and the guy who shipped our products and showed me how to pack a box properly. We need to find mentors who are above us, below us, next to us. That’s more valuable. You can learn something from the receptionist at your office.”

Another thing you can do: shop Minkoff’s fall 2018 collection online and in stores, with all products created by an ethical supply chain. But there’s still one problem: If this line is about women helping women, what happens when we’re all fighting for the same pair of boots?