Rachel Roy is remarkable. She launched her namesake fashion line in 2004, was inducted into the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 2007 and launched more accessible clothes, shoes, accessories and home goods brand RACHEL Rachel Roy in 2009. She’s dressed a who’s who of marquee names including Michelle Obama, Melania Trump, Kate Hudson, Iman, Jennifer Gardner, Kim Kardashian, Penelope Cruz and more.
Rachel was named a UN Women Champion for Innovation for her philanthropic work including her Kindness is Always Fashionable initiative and currently provides meals to thousands of children in need via her skincare line Ancient India’s giveback program. That’s her resume. The person behind it is even more exceptional.
Rachel Roy has a presence. When she walks into a room you can’t help but notice – even though there was a time she wished to blend in. Rachel Roy has passion, for so many things, and that passion is inspiring. Rachel Roy has compassion – and when it’s directed at you it’s like being wrapped in a warm hug. Rachel Roy has two daughters, Ava Dash, 25, and Tallulah Dash, 17, and they’re the core of her world. That world is now anchored in Austin, where Rachel and her girls moved early summer 2024, although Rachel says, “in many ways it feels like we have been here much longer.” And, while Ava, who appears on the inaugural season of Bravo’s Next Gen NYC has been spending time in New York, Rachel says, “Home is wherever her sister and I are.” We spent time with Rachel during a photo shoot at Hotel ZaZa and learned about what drew her to Austin, the project filling her time since she’s arrived, how living a life by design was a lesson she learned early and more.
What drew you to Austin? I choose Austin for the size of the city; large while still feeling intimate, and because it felt like a city ideal for young people, perfect for both of my children. After living in Manhattan for 10 years and Los Angeles for 10 years, I traveled the country looking for our next home. Austin felt like it had the largest amount of young people that could still navigate on their own in a safe environment, that is not easy to find these days. Coming from the Los Angeles area, I did not want what that was; I was looking for the opposite of what is going on there but with a vibrancy that was palpable. I found that here.
You’ve been renovating your house for the last year or so, what made you do it yourself rather than hire a contractor or interior designer? I bought a modern house because I liked the location, but I am not a modern house girl, so every inch of the home needed to change. Yes, it is lovely to have one person who can handle everything for you when it comes to remodeling your home, but for me, that was a cost that tripled the project. I wanted to design and change the house more than my budget allowed, and quickly discovered I could only do that by becoming my own contractor. At the end of the day, no matter if you hire a fancy design firm or if you hire folks yourself, the trades that are doing the actual work are almost all same. The exception to that are wallpaper installers, that is a lost art. For me, the key is finding trades that you trust and that just takes trial and error and time. There are some really talented trades that have never been hired directly or given the opportunity to create and those are the ones I enjoy working with. I have seen trades blossom with the opportunity to design, make decisions on their own and work with rare materials that I tend to be attracted to. Early on I had a few awful experiences with companies and individuals looking to take advantage. Keeping my head down, one foot in front of the other and consistency, just like with all forms of business, I made it past those early mishaps and learned from the mistakes. I have learned so much about building vs renovating, designing interiors vs decorating a room this year.
What have you enjoyed most about the process? The finished project, the after photos! And living in them. But seriously, I hope I’m teaching my daughters that they can design the life they wish to live at any point in their lives - not by waiting for someone else, but by their own doing. And when you change your environment, you change your life.
What are some design elements you’ve added to your house you’re particularly fond of? My bathroom is a favorite. The tub backsplash is an Italian marble called Monet, it has green, oxblood, brown and creams running through it and it is more beautiful than any painting I could imagine. My favorite artist and painting is Claude Monet’s Waterlilies, so apparently I am consistent in my likes. I am also deeply in love with the oxblood handmade tiles from Spain by Ann Sachs that come with their own matching crown tiles. They remind me of a 1940’s Parisian pharmacy. Tile transforms.
Is the process informing new Rachel Rachel Roy Home pieces? Absolutely, I am someone who greatly yearns for learning and what I learn I enjoy passing on. Everything that comes to us is meant to be shared. Those who grasp onto what they are given are not people I want to know or be around.
Do you still actively design clothes for Rachel Rachel Roy? Yes, I started Rachel Roy over 20 years ago in Bergdorf Goodman, my very first account. After five years, I expanded to a secondary collection, Rachel Rachel Roy which is in Nordstrom, Macys, TJMaxx and beyond. I design many categories for my namesake brand, dresses, denim, casual wear, jewelry, home décor, it’s such a joy.
And you now also have a skincare line, Ancient India. When did that launch, and why did you decide to start a skincare line? As I evolve my 20-plus years in the fashion industry, I was looking create a company on my own and with my current life mission: to create with a mission for good. In 2017 I developed a rare skin disease, Scleroderma Coup de Sabre. With the help of an expert at Johns Hopkins, as well as Ayurveda doctors, I began my journey of recovery. Through this, I began studying the ancient wisdom traditions of Ayurveda, a 5,000-year-old science of well-being from India. I traveled to the Himalayas to work with expert scientists in the field and over the years, grew to deeply understand Ayurveda and what our personal inner pharmacy needs for prime well-being—principles much of which had been taught to me by my father growing up. Making a full recovery, I was inspired to begin the journey of following my dharma, which led me to want to develop skin care products I could use that were powerfully, naturally, safe for all skin types. Lead with a mission of giving back. Ancient India Skincare combines the best of science and nature and feeds my need to help others- with every purchase I am able to provide 100 meals to children in great need.
You design clothing, you design accessories, you design home goods. You wrote a book Design Your Life. You obviously have a life by design. Do the latter take a lot of discipline? Not discipline, but rather it takes knowing yourself and being true to what you know how to do well and what you love to do, as opposed to what someone else wants of you. I knew myself well enough to know my strengths and my weaknesses from a pretty early age, thanks to my father. I have worked since I was 14, and it has always been in retail. My father dropped me off at McDonald’s and told me not to come home until I had a job, so I asked him to take me to the mall instead, and I started working that day. I learned at 14 I could make a woman look her best, and make a room look its best, make windows and a shop look their best. But there was much I could not do, still can’t – I’m terrible with numbers. I was raised by a strong proud immigrant father who would not settle for me being a wallflower despite my best efforts of trying to blend in with my surroundings and not stand out. Eventually I learned to embrace it and soon I learned hard consistent work in a field I loved, led to a better quality of life. I did design my life even at 14. I choose the mall over fast food.
Do you journal and vision board the life you want? Yes, almost daily. We are all visual creatures. Seeing something consistently, breathing something over and over, thinking something repeatedly, we will become that in some way or another, for better or worse. I choose to make my circle very small because of this. Positive thoughts and images truly help me and I suspect it is the same for many others. I believe the true 1% of the 1% are not the billionaires, but those who walk with joy. The greatest measure of success is joy.
What are some of your non-negotiables each day? Lemon ginger and turmeric in warm water, prayer and boundaries.
How often do you wear your own clothing or accessories? My daily uniform when I am not going out and don’t need to be public facing consists of vintage Levis, either 501’s or Orange Tab, with a black Rachel Rachel Roy cardigan worn as a shirt, turquoise or morganite jewelry and Feiyue sneakers.
How would you describe your current style? Menswear with a twist of feminine chic. I have been inspired by menswear for as long as I have been designing. What most don’t know is that all trends in womenswear start with the men’s collections. To me, there is nothing chicer than a Dunhill Collection.
Has it changed since moving to Texas? I trade the Feiyue sneakers for Lucchese Priscilla’s!
You're so accomplished. Apart from your daughters, what in your life are you most proud of? Creating a home life for my children and myself better than the one I was born into, not repeating patterns, not following the crowd, not easily swayed by bs. These are all things I am proud of.
If you have taught your daughters one lesson, you hope that it’s… They have the power within themselves to create a life they dream of, no one will hand them anything, their life is up to them. And knowing they have the tools to find their way back to joy when life gives them heartache.
What’s something you admire about each of your daughters? Ava, I admire her strength and her calmness. Her superpower is not overreacting, knowing when to walk away from toxic environments rather than becoming toxic like many people do when they feel wronged. Ava is cool, graceful chic and confident.
Tallulah, I admire her heart and ability to communicate in any environment and to any person. Her superpower is her capacity to give love openly and the strength to lead her peers while being 100% herself. Tallulah is as rare and as wonderful as her name, a heart as big as the sun, empathetic and wise.
Is there anything left on your career bucket list? I would love for Ancient India Skin Care to generate enough to be able to create homes/safe havens for displaced children. I would like to design a collection of furniture and tile and lamps from vintage objects and fabrics. I would like to host a home design show. I would like to continue to design for as long as I live, for me to create is to live.
And your life bucket list? Getting married, with both of my girls walking me down the aisle.
QUICK FIRE
If I could have one superpower The ability to protect children and animals
Favorite book The Four Agreements
Favorite quote “Forgive not because someone deserves forgiveness, forgive because you deserve peace” Deepak Chopra
Favorite Austin restaurant Jeffreys
I’m inspired by… risk takers, bravery & extreme intelligence
"When you change your environment, you change your life"
"I believe the true 1% of the 1% are not the billionaires, but those who walk with joy. The greatest measure of success is joy."
" I would like to continue to design for as long as I live, for me to create is to live.