How House of CB Became the Secret Cheapie Brand Beyoncé, Khloé, and Gigi Love

From ELLE

Notching your first major victory in the celebrity red carpet dressing game can be a huge challenge for an emerging fashion brand. A-listers like Blake Lively, Kim Kardashian, and Selena Gomez may change outfits upwards of 15 times in a one-week press tour, but these women (and their stylists) often have personal and professional ties that lead them to chose pieces by the same designer names over and over (e.g., Kim Kardashian wearing Balmain pieces by her bestie Olivier Rousteing; Natalie Portman’s long run of wearing Dior when she was the face of the label). With all that to consider, it’s hard for tiny brands-no matter how great their clothes are-to score the coveted celebrity red carpet placement that could translate to a serious business boost.

Yet somehow House of CB, the fashion line 23-year-old Conna Walker founded six years ago with no major fashion training, had no struggle with the matter. After a major overhaul of her label in 2014, Walker’s House of CB managed to become a Hollywood favorite seemingly overnight. House of CB now counts Beyoncé, Gigi Hadid, Jennifer Lopez, and the entire Kardashian Klan (does it get any bigger than that?) as fans of the curve-hugging, heard-turning designs. (Which, non-famous people may want to know, are wonderfully wallet friendly as well: There are $157 leather jackets, $179 cocktail dresses, $73 bodysuits.)

But how did House of CB do it? I recently rang up Walker to chat about her success, learn how she came to own the red carpet, and get a feeling for what having the Hadids and Kardashians on your side can do for business.

You started the company at 17, selling items on eBay. How did go from that to designing your own pieces and building your own brand?

I had a lot of growth with selling items on eBay, but I realized that that was only as far as that could take me, so I realized I needed to start creating my own stuff. And then, again, there is only so much you can do yourself, so I hired some designers so everything has been designed in-house. It was a very natural process.

I read that you don’t actually have a fashion background, yet you’ve still managed to create such an impressive business. How and why do you think that is?

I think it really comes down to a really-I honestly just really, really loved clothes. I’d always been looking for things that I couldn’t find and I am not bad at drawing, so that was kind of a natural thing for me, I guess. Then I was lucky that the manufacturers I was working with at the time didn’t need me to be super professional or technical. They just understood through my explanations of how I wanted stuff. But when the business got better I hired designers and they brought things to the table, like how you structure a design and all the technicalities, so I didn’t have to learn that myself. I was quite lucky in that regard. Even though I did not necessarily have a plan in the beginning, I found out quite quickly what I wanted to do and where I wanted to take things. Learning as I went along taught me a lot more than, say, just beginning with a lot of cash and a big company already. It’s made a huge difference in how I handled the brand and how it’s all very hands-on.

Who is the woman you had in mind when you started designing?

Honestly, it was really for me at first. And even still now, I am still the girl that I design for-although our customers are the whole reason we do what we do. A lot of it was just because there were things I wanted that I felt I could not find anywhere else. And so I made them.

How about now?

I’ve always loved JLo, so she is one of them. But then I go in and out of phases with other people. Like right now I am obsessed with Hailey Baldwin. I’ll have a muse for a few months and then I will move on to someone else. But my all-time is JLo. Then there’s this other girl called Kristen Noel Crawley on Instagram.

She writes for us!

Oh, really? She’s amazing. Her style is insane. So yeah, there’s a few people that I always go to and then I just get these little girl crushes for a few months and then I move on.

Did you have a specific body type in mind when designing? Women with curves, maybe?

Yes, definitely. And I think I wanted to design for a girl that did not necessarily have curves, but wanted them, if that makes sense. I had a very feminine idea in mind. But I think also the whole thing has evolved a lot and that’s partially because of the difference of me being 17 when I started and now being 23. We’re quite consistent in how feminine we are, but now we are getting a bit more modern. Things are quite figure hugging.

How would you say House of CB has changed over the years?

One of the biggest things is the color palette. I was super into neon when I was younger-terrible, terrible colors-and now it is mainly neutral. We have a few brights and maybe a sherbet orange in there, but yes, mostly a neutral color palette. Most of clothes are cooler, more modern, and I think most of the clothes are more design based than they were before. I think this is all a testament to the growth I’ve had as a person, and what kind of style I want now was different than what I wanted before.

The color palette really seems to be in line with the Kardashians. Which came first?

I think it is kind of a two-way street. A lot of high-end brands have been putting out a lot of neutral colors-obviously the Kardashians stick to a lot of neutral colors, but it’s also not just them. I think a lot of their stylists often stick to neutrals. It’s just a style that is currently trending. But we also design based on what we think our customers will like, and what our celebrity clients will want to wear, so yeah, it’s really a give and take.

The orange dress Khloé Kardashian wore to your store opening did seem different for the brand!

Yeah, it was something that was designed for our resort collection, hence the brighter orange color. It’s one of the pieces she picked that has those signature elements-revealing cutouts on the side, the high neck, a sexy balance. But yeah, Khloé just loves a lot of our pieces as they are, she’s a really great supporter of the brand.

You have so many supporters in Hollywood! Why do you think everyone loves House of CB so much?

It’s funny because I was speaking to Rob, who is one of JLo’s stylists, when we were in Vegas, and he said that [he loves it] because it’s a sexy brand that not’s cheap, if that makes sense. Like the fit and the fabrics are really good. And he said that they find it difficult to find brands that strike that balance. He mentioned a few others that have that vibe, but other than that, everyone is either quite covered up or really casual. It’s about finding that balance in the middle, and that’s kind of why he thinks people love it so much. Also, a lot of our pieces do not have to be tailored for celebrities, which is really pretty unusual. They can just put it on and go.

As someone who is not in Hollywood, I appreciate how much your items cost. Why did you want to sell at this specific price point?

Like I said before, when I first started out I was designing for me. It wouldn’t have made sense to sell pieces to 18-year-olds that would cost $2,000. There isn’t anything affordable for your normal girl that is at the quality level or of our design and style. I think, again, that’s part of the reason why celebrities like to wear it. It’s more relatable as well.

Can you point to a moment where you felt like: Yes! This is my breakthrough!

I think it was actually Kylie [Jenner]-I mean, Kylie wore the Alessa, a striped, high-neck bodysuit on an episode of KUWTK and oh my gosh, I had to rewind it! And then I think she also wore it in a promo picture for something two weeks later, and I was like: Okay, this is crazy. Jennifer Lopez wore one of our pieces on the cover of her album, AKA. One of her stylists paired it with this beautiful red vintage Versace piece. But they mixed it up [when they did the credits]. I was like, the skirt is mine! Not Versace!

That was a really big one for me. And actually, something happened with Beyonc this year. She wore a dress for an interview, and you could only see the top of her dress, but the PR company confirmed that it was ours. People were like, “You cannot even see the dress!” And I was like, “Hey, it’s Beyoncé, okay. Let me have my moment. I don’t care if you can only see the top of the dress! Then she wore another one straight after and it was a full, good picture, so I had my moment then. But still, all three of those moments left me really in shock.

What does that do for business when celebs wear your stuff?

For business, it’s amazing. It has given us a lot of credibility that could have taken a lot longer to gain. I think that it kind of makes us more desired as a brand. In terms of numbers, I mean, the Kardashian Effect is very real, so whenever they wear anything it sells out immediately. Same with Beyoncé, same with JLo. They all have that kind of effect.

How do you think social media has played a role in your success?

It has been one of the key factors to building my brand. Without it, it wouldn’t have been possible. It has been key to our growth. We don’t post any classic advertising-we don’t do TV ads, we don’t do any paid advertising in that way. So it’s all quite organic, and I do think that is truly because of social media. The whole social media celebrity thing has really made people aware of the brand.

Have you ever DM'ed celebrities to try to get product on them?

I have 100 percent done that so many times. I have done it with so many people and gotten rejected so many times. And then later they want to wear my things. Yeah, of course, I did that for years. I remember one of the first times a celebrity wore my things was on a British TV show, and I was never really aware what people did. But she was like, "Hey, if you give me this dress, can I wear it?” And I said, “Okay, I’ll do that, but you have to post the picture and tag me in the picture.” When I realized that that is kind of what people did, I just started flooding everyone’s inboxes. And tried to send them stuff.

You’ve mentioned in a lot of interviews that you love Kim Kardashian and the family in general. Why?

I really respect their household. I know a lot of people say that they don’t work, but I think they really have created this whole pop culture about them, and that is actually really incredible. And they have done it as a family! And regardless of what people say, I think people really do look up to Kim for style. For a family to have made themselves relevant and stay relevant for however many years, is really something. I like their work ethic. They don’t stop.

You’re well known for your dusters and bodysuits. What are some new pieces you hope people flock to?

We have some upcoming pieces with so much embellishment, which is quite a step up from our usual style. In the area of next year, we are launching a denim collection. Of course that will include jeans, but it will also be denim jackets, dresses, bombers. A more dressed-up denim than people are used to.

I saw something you tweeted recently that said, “Building a brand is hard. Keeping it popping is harder.” How do you think you keep House of CB popping?

We are always evolving. You can usually tell one of our pieces from a mile away, but we do keep evolving. A lot of brands do drops maybe five or six times a year, but we are releasing new product every Monday, so we keep bringing our customers something new. But we think the main reason people keep coming to us is because we are always on point with what we bring out. The products are cool themselves, which is why people are wearing them. Sometimes people get this the wrong way around-they think that if you just put anything on a celebrity, then it will be good or cool or it’s gonna sell. No, you still have to have a good product.

Where do you see the brand going in five years?

Well, we are going to be opening more stores. We just opened the L.A. store, which is doing incredibly well. Now we are looking at Vegas, Miami, New York, Atlanta, and then we are going to be looking at doing Australia as well. But in terms of the brand as a whole, I really want it to be a lifestyle brand. So long-term I would really to do home furnishings or interiors, beauty products, pretty much everything. So wherever you go you will have CB in your life. That’s where I would like it to go.

This interview has been edited and condensed.