‘RHONY’ Star Rebecca Minkoff Addresses Brynn Whitfield’s Nordstrom Rack Shade: “That Felt Below The Belt”

Rebecca Minkoff is taking a “leap of faith” as she crosses over from the fashion world to the Bravo universe. The designer, who founded her eponymous fashion brand in 2005, stars as the newest “friend of” in the upcoming season of The Real Housewives of New York City. But, judging by the Season 15 teaser, it looks like her star power still won’t be enough to save her from Brynn Whitfield‘s shade.

As fans saw in the trailer, Whitfield made a brutal dig at Minkoff’s fashion empire when she joked that it could be found at Nordstrom Rack, a discount department store.

“I think that my response – and I said this to her – I said, ‘You know, that hurt, that felt below the belt. And I hope we can build a relationship past this and I can trust you,'” Minkoff told DECIDER when asked how she reacted to hearing Whitfield’s remark.

Still, Minkoff referred to Whitfield as “sweet,” noting that she “made some really great new friends” when she came on the show through Erin Lichy.

“I love taking risks,” Minkoff said of her decision to join the hit reality series, which was rebooted with a completely new cast last season. “I said to my husband, ‘I can predict our life if I don’t do this, but I can’t predict our life if I do do it.’ And he’s like, ‘You’re crazy.’ And I was like, ‘Let’s go.'”

We sat down with Minkoff to talk all things RHONY Season 15. Check out the full interview below.

DECIDER: I’m so excited about the new season of RHONY. How are you feeling about joining the Bravo universe? 

REBECCA MINKOFF: I’m really excited. You know, when I decided to come on, it was a leap of faith. But I’ve made some really great new friends. And so I’m excited for the season to start.

Have you watched any of the Bravo shows before?

I watched the first season of the reboot. I got about halfway through and then the night before I signed on, I watched the rest. I lost a little sleep that night, but I was like, “Alright, I’m ready.” You know what? I love taking risks. And I said to my husband, “I can predict our life if I don’t do this, but I can’t predict our life if I do do it.” And he’s like, “You’re crazy.” And I was like, “Let’s go.” 

What made you decide to take that risk and join the show?

As I look at the fact that I’ve always been so in touch with my consumer, we were the first brand to talk to her and that was frowned upon – meet her, invite her to shows. The customer, my age and demo, is the audience, and I’m celebrating my 20th anniversary all of next year. And I thought, what a better way that she can get to know me a little bit more personally. She can see other sides of me that we don’t show on social [media]. And I just thought that was another way that I can connect further with her. 

You’re coming up on 20 years of your fashion brand. What is the key to maintaining a successful business for so long?

I think first up, sometimes you just have to be the one that keeps getting back up. I talk about it in my book. Sometimes I’m still here just because I was like, “Well, that was a huge punch in the face. Let me stand back up,” when other people were like, “I’m tapping out.” And I think it’s about maintaining great relationships. It’s being humble and grateful. And I think it’s about knowing that there are so many bumps in the road, but you keep your eye on that North Star.

You have such a beautiful family! Will we get to see that side of your life on the show?

You get to see a small portion of it. You’ll see some FaceTimes with the crew. There’s a shoot that I do with my daughter for the brand that hopefully makes it into the season, but there wasn’t a ton of filming of my kids. 

I’m really curious about your dynamic on the show with Jenna Lyons, seeing as you both come from the fashion world. Would you say there was more of a camaraderie or competition vibe between you two?

Definitely camaraderie. I kept joking with her. I was like, we should do fake fighting over, like, who’s more stylish? And she was like, “We’re good.” And I was like, “But it’d be so funny if we did that!” And so, we just had a lot of fun together. And she’s been so supportive. And obviously, you know, Racquel [Chevremont] and I were the newbies, so she really held my hand through a lot of stuff to just understand how it all works.

Jenna received a lack of flack from the cast in Season 1 after gifting them with her various collabs and personal favorite products. Were you generous with the ladies with products from your own line this season? If so, how did they react? 

I think I gifted them twice. One was in the Hamptons when we had our girls trip. I gave everyone a beautiful clutch and some of them were like, “This isn’t the right style for me.” I was like, “Great, what do you want?” And that’s why I never like to gift because you never know what someone wants. And then the second time was before our all girls trip to Puerto Rico and Erin was walking on the plane with that. And I was like, “That’s my girl. She’s a supporter.”

We all know Jessel comes from the fashion PR world. Had your paths crossed before you joined the cast? 

They had crossed, but I had no idea. So when we opened our store in L.A. back, I think in 2016, she was working at a company called HL Group and we had all these calls once a week as we led up to open the store. And so when I had her on my podcast, she’s like, “By the way, I was on that call with you every week for like 12 weeks leading up to this.” And so I was like, “I had no idea.” Because it was before zoom. But yeah, we crossed paths that way.

Who would you say you were closest with from the cast?

I would say that it’s a mixture. But Erin, obviously I’m her friend – that’s how I kind of come on through the show. But I got close with Ubah, Jessel, Sai, Jenna, Racquel’s been really great to get to know. And Brynn’s sweet. 

In the trailer, Brynn throws some shade at your business. Were you surprised to see that? And what’s your response? 

I think that my response – and I said this to her – I said, “You know, that hurt, that felt below the belt. And I hope we can build a relationship past this and I can trust you.”

I think one of the most shocking moments in the trailer was when Jessel revealed that someone had gotten pregnant with another man after a wild night. The way the clips are cut together, it seems like she might be talking about you or maybe someone you told her about? Can you clear any of that up?

I can’t. You have to watch and see – and be on bump-watch, right?

True! We also saw Ubah get pretty heated in the trailer. As someone who works in fashion, would you agree that she outdoes Naomi and Gisele? What do you think Naomi would think of her claim?

Well, I don’t know, Gisele or Naomi. I only know Ubah and she’s fucking fabulous. And the minute I met her, I was like, not only is she beautiful, but she is such a good human. And sometimes, let’s say on Season 1, you just see a lot of her temper. But that is not who Ubah is. She is the kindest, most generous soul. And so I’ll have to give you a better answer when I meet the other two supermodels. But for now, Ubah’s my favorite.

Just out of curiosity, have you ever crossed paths with anyone from the original cast of RHONY? If so, who? 

I have crossed paths with Bethenny Frankel. I’ve crossed paths with Jill Zarin. And I think that’s it. I was on Bethany’s podcast many years ago and I’ve seen her at events and stuff, but that’s about it … Oh, and I think I’ve met Kelly Bensimon a couple of times.

Who do you think is the Housewife (can be any franchise) with the best fashion and why?

Oh, God. That’s hard. Well, Bozoma Saint John is on the new [season of] Beverly Hills. She’s a dear friend and she brings the fashion. So I’m going to say I already know what she’s going to give. Jenna Fuckin’ Lyons has incredible fashion. Every time we filmed, I was like, “Goddamnit, you look so fucking good.” So those would be my top two. 

Have you heard any tea about what’s going on in The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills? 

I’ve heard a lot. She and I were on the phone for an hour yesterday just spilling the tea.

Anything you can share?

No, nothing.

If you could dress any one of your RHONY cast mates, who would it be and why?

Any of them? I mean, I think it goes without saying that Ubah would probably be my first choice. I think Sai has great style. She’s never boring. And I think that, yeah, Racquel is gorgeous. Like, effortlessly gorgeous. Every morning I’m sitting there with the eye creams and whatever I can do as our makeup slowly would wear off on the girls trip, and I was like, “Fuck you, Racquel. Like, you look beautiful all the time.” 

What do you think of Andy Cohen’s Watch What Happens Live style? Do you think he should switch it up from time to time or should he stick with a classic tailored suit?

I like the classic tailored suit on a man. I never understand when a man shows his calves and hair and shorts. But you know what I would love to see Andy in? I’d love to see him in more of a little bit of a fitted ‘50s suit that maybe, like, shows off a fun loafer, sock situation. 

Love that! What can you tease about this season of RHONY?

We had a lot of fun playing pranks on each other. And, it makes it really entertaining. And I’m sure it’ll be dragged out so you’ll never know who’s playing what. But we had a lot of fun with that.

Were there any pranks like the one Erin pulled on Ubah last season when she took her phone?

No pranks end in anger [laughs].

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

The Real Housewives of New York City airs on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo. New episodes are available to stream the next day on Peacock.