Rachel Antonoff

Rachel Antonoff is an American fashion designer based in New York City. She is known for presenting her designs in creative ways, including in the form of a murder mystery, as a "sock hop," and in a dollhouse. In 2015, director and actress Lena Dunham promoted Antonoff's collaboration with & Other Stories in a short film called Vote Audrey. Dunham famously wore Antonoff's Uterus Sweater to a Planned Parenthood event where she then auctioned it off to raise an additional $4,000 for the cause. The text of her popular 2013 "I'm With Her" sweatshirt descended into politics after Hillary Clinton's campaign adopted I'm With Her as the campaign's slogan. Antonoff starred in and was the creative director for the music video for Tegan and Sara's "Boyfriend" in 2016. Early life and interest Born in Teaneck, New Jersey, Antonoff was raised in nearby New Milford, where she and her brother Jack Antonoff, singer and songwriter of Bleachers and lead guitarist of the indie rock band Fun, would commute to the Upper West Side to attend the Professional Children's School where Rachel studied theater. Her younger sister, Sarah, died of brain cancer at the age of 13. Growing up, Rachel and her brother Jack became very involved in the punk rock and hardcore music scene in the 1990s. When Jack went on tour with his band around the country, Rachel tagged along. Later Antonoff attributed this experience with influencing the way in which she creates. During her twenties, she attended Fordham University and briefly worked as a freelance writer after graduation. During the same time, Antonoff loved clothing and frequently discussed designing clothes with her roommate at the time. When Antonoff was 22, she and her roommate and best friend began their fashion business, Mooka Kinney. The two took three designs and some fabric to their childhood neighbor and seamstress in New Jersey who then sewed six samples in her basement. The first dress ever made was called the "Swan Dress," made out of a green printed fabric with swans found at Mood, a well known fabric store in New York City. The dress was a sleeveless baby doll mini dress. From there, the two got some friends to model their designs and sent the photos to previous contacts Antonoff had from working in PR. The only response the pair received was from Teen Vogue who scheduled a meeting to meet Antonoff and her partner and to see the samples.