interview by JANA LETONJA

Kristin Cavallari became a household name and pop culture icon as a star of MTV’s hit reality series ‘Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County’. In 2017, she founded Uncommon James, a globally recognized lifestyle brand that spans everyday jewelry, skincare Uncommon Beauty, apparel, accessories, and home décor. The brand’s latest expansion includes a debut fragrance, Hard Feelings, which was released this Summer. Besides all her business endeavours, Kristin is also a host of her podcast ‘Let’s Be Honest with Kristin Cavallari’, which airs new episodes each Tuesday.

full look ULLA JOHNSON

Kristin, we’ve gotten to know you in MTV’s hit reality series ‘Laguna Beach’. How did your experience on reality TV shape your life and career?

It definitely changed the whole course of my life, and obviously career is a large part of that. Before MTV came, I was definitely interested in the entertainment world. My plan was to go to school, to study broadcast journalism and sort of work my way in that route. And MTV really just escalated everything. When I graduated high school, I decided to move up to LA and just run with the opportunities that were being presented to me. I'm really thankful for ‘Laguna Beach’ because it's ultimately gotten me where I am today, and it's opened up so many doors for me. I've been able to have a career in entertainment for 20 years, and I know that that's not an easy thing to do.

Steven and I did the ‘Back to the Beach’ podcast a couple years ago and that's when I think I really understood what the show meant to people. And to have the podcast be as successful as it was, and have people be so invested still, was when I was able to take a step back and realize what an impact the show had on people, so that was a cool moment for me.

full look ULLA JOHNSON

Your cookbooks have been very successful. How do you balance creating content with managing your business?

It's been challenging at times. It was five-ish years ago that I worked on my first cookbook. I launched Uncommon James about a year or two before, and it was starting to do really well. I was also filming ‘Very Cavallari’, hosting all of the pre-shows for the big award shows, had three little kids, and I was really maxed out. I definitely got burnt out and then Covid happened, which I think forced everyone to slow down. Honestly, for me at the time, it was what I needed. It forced me to stop, which was a saving grace. And ever since then, I've just taken a lot off of my plate.

When I did my most recent cookbook, ‘Truly Simple’, I didn't go to the office every day anymore. I essentially took a few months off of Uncommon James. I mean, I still designed, I would still check in, but I went from going into the office every day to really just being at my house, cooking every day for three or four months and then writing for three months. And that was really enjoyable. Right now, my work life is podcast and a little bit of Uncommon James. Other than that, I'm maxed out. I'm not doing more just because my work life balance has gotten to such a great place. My family life is first, my kids come first. And that's more important to me right now than work.

I feel really lucky that I've been able to curate my career to do from my house, essentially. My podcast, I can do from my house. Uncommon James, I can design from my house. And I am so thankful that I've been able to do that because I know a lot of people cannot do that.

coat LEO SEASON
jewellery LISA NIK

What motivated you to write ‘True Roots’, ‘Truly Simple’ and ‘True Comfort’?

I love cooking, I always have. Since becoming a mom, I just always knew I wanted to cook dinner every night for my family. And I am very passionate about health, about good quality food, how I think everyone should have access to good quality food. I'm in no way, shape or form a chef. I've never tried to say I'm a chef, I am just a mom who loves to cook, and I've had this platform that's allowed me to have cookbooks.

And I think to be able to share with people that you can in fact eat everything, still have food taste really good, but it can be healthy, is really fulfilling. Some of the best compliments I've ever gotten in my entire career have been when people come up to me and say that they've lost 20, 30 pounds just from cooking out of my cookbooks, and how great they feel. That for me is huge. So, if I can help a few people, that for me is what it's all about.

dress GIADA
shoes MALONE SOULIERS
necklace LAG WORLD
earrings ACLER

Uncommon James has grown into a globally recognized lifestyle brand since its founding in 2017. What inspired you to start the brand, and how has your vision for it evolved over the years?

I've always loved accessories. I think they can really make or break your outfit. I'm all about basics and throwing on great shoes and jewelry. At the time when I launched Uncommon James, I already had a shoe line with Chinese Laundry, so for me, jewelry was the next natural step. And to be honest with you, I had this fire in me to prove that I knew what I was talking about in the branding world because coming from working with Chinese Laundry, I had final say, but I was still answering to a team of people. I think sometimes learning what not to do is more beneficial than what to do. And I learned a lot working with a well-established company.

I was unstoppable when I launched. I didn't have a business plan. I found someone to create my website and a manufacturer, and it was just like boom, let's go. In hindsight, was that the right decision? I don't know. Maybe not. It was a lot of learning lessons in that first two years I'd say, but I think if you have passion and drive and dedication, those things can't be taught. And how it's evolved is incredible. What started as one small jewelry collection is this full machine. And I really give the credit to my team because I have such a phenomenal team.

Like I said, I barely do anything anymore. They really do everything. We've become a lifestyle brand and I'm really proud of what we've been able to accomplish. I've never taken any outside funding. I'm 100% owner and that's what I'm most proud of with Uncommon James. I think even more so in the skincare world, because we've been able to create products that are effective and really clean too. I use them every day. And if I can help women have that little extra confidence, that's what it's all about.

top LOVECHILD
tights CALZEDONIA
flats ALAÏA
earrings LAG WORLD
jewellery LISA NIK

Skincare has become a significant part of your brand with the launch of Uncommon Beauty in 2021. Can you tell us what motivated this expansion and how you approached creating skincare products that stand out in such a competitive market?

It's very saturated and that's why I really think you can't get too hung up on that. Of course I'm aware of competitors, but I don't pay close attention to them. I'm over here doing my thing. Skincare wasn't on my radar, but my team noticed that the number one question we were getting was about my personal skincare routine, and so we thought maybe there's something here. What I did was I just started talking to a lab and was really curious. I sent in the products I was using at the time just to get a read on them, and ultimately found out that what I thought was clean products was in fact not.

When you have all of these additives in these products, they're not helping you with anti-aging and doing all of these things that we want them to be doing. They're in fact doing the opposite, so I was kind of blown away at the beauty industry in general and how you can say you're a clean brand, but really you're not. It's such a gray area and there's so many loopholes, and I thought that was alarming. I felt like there really was a need for a skincare line that was effective because we still want products that are going to do what we want them to do.

For us, it was combining the two, having really effective products that were also clean. And we've been able to come out with really great products. Skincare is really important to me because I use it, but also skincare is so big for younger girls now. My daughter wants skincare and I want to have products that I'm comfortable with her using.

shirt & trousers LOEWE
jewellery PATOU

You recently released Uncommon James’ debut fragrance this summer. What was the inspiration behind creating your first fragrance, and how does it reflect the vision of your brand?

Everything we do with Uncommon James and Uncommon Beauty to me is like the last steps. The jewelry, the skincare, it's the last things to put on before you go and take on the world. And fragrance is also that, fragrance is truly the final step. And again, everything we're doing, I feel like is those last little bits to give women and men the confidence that they need to go and take on the world.

And fragrance is so personal. I love scent because it can take you back to a moment in time, and it can make you feel a certain way. And our fragrance is sexy, it's empowering, it's subtle, it has so many different components in it. Also, my 8-year-old can wear it and my mom can wear it. It is so versatile.

trousers KRIS MARAN
necklace FORTE FORTE
earrings LISA NIK

In addition to running Uncommon James, you host the podcast ‘Let’s Be Honest with Kristin Cavallari’. What inspired you to launch your podcast, and how do you approach creating content that resonates with your audience each week?

Well, it's funny because I had been offered podcasts for years and I was like “There's no way, they're a lot of work, and I don't know what am I going to talk about”. And then Steven and I did ‘Back to the Beach’ podcast and I loved it. I actually really enjoyed the process and so I just thought “Hey, you know what? It really works with my life. I can do them from my house on my schedule. I can talk about what I want to talk about”. For me, that's such a dream. After launching Uncommon James and being my own boss, that's where I'm happiest. I hate answering to people and so being able to come up with what I want to talk about every week has been such a joy for me.

I've had it for a year and initially, I was kind of doing the celebrity thing, which I think a lot of people do, and I just sort of realized that's not the route I want to take because I don't think they give the best interviews and understandably so. A lot of people are very guarded and have to be very careful about what they say, which I completely get, so it's sort of morphed into more of what I find interesting conversations. For me, that's way more fun than just another celebrity interview. Besides having guests, I do a lot of solo episodes and what does well for my podcast is my personal life. For me, it’s all about trying to find a balance of personal life, but also interesting conversations that I'm excited about. And I have found what I'm excited about typically is also what my audience is excited about, so that's a nice thing for me.

jacket JACQUEMUS
tights CALZEDONIA
jewellery LAG WORLD

You’ve been involved in various humanitarian efforts throughout your career. How have these experiences impacted your perspective on life?

Probably the coolest experience I had was going to Kenya, working an organization at the time called OneKid OneWorld. We went and helped rebuild schools, brought water tanks to schools, and did all these things. Being able to be there and see the actual schools, and see how these people are living and meet the kids and the teachers and everything, that was such an incredible experience. And I think it just puts everything in perspective. It makes you appreciate everything you have too, and realize how lucky we are.

I'm trying to think of some other things that I've done. Right now, I just donated money to our school. It's become more about my kids and the school in the last few years just because that's my life right now, but I do feel like at some point, once my kids graduate and I have more time, I'll probably get more into that stuff. I'm very passionate about animals though, and I want to do something with animals just because they're so innocent.

coat & shirt GIORGIO ARMANI
lingerie ELSE
earrings LAG WORLD

How do you stay motivated and inspired, both in your personal life and professional endeavors?

It can be hard at times. I definitely go through slumps as far as Uncommon James for example, and coming up with a starting point for every jewelry collection because that's sometimes I think where I find it to be the most challenging. I don't get to travel all the time, but I went to Greece this summer and that inspired an entire collection. And so that does help me, even if I can't travel and am just going on Pinterest.

And how do I stay inspired in my personal life? My alone time for me is huge because that's when I'm able to clear my mind and recharge my batteries. Blasting music, organizing my house, as silly as that sounds, is where I come up with ideas and get inspired. Organizing my house I feel helps me organize my mind.

As a busy mother of three, how do you balance your personal life with the demands of running a successful business and managing multiple projects?

I don't really have a personal life. It's this season of life where I'm at, it’s kids and work. And I'm okay with that because I know it's a season. Just this year, I pieced together that I only have my oldest for six more years in the house. And that wrecks me. I only have nine more years in total with kids in the house. And my boys want to be with their friends all the time now too, so the time is limited. The most important thing for me right now is making dinner every night, being at every sporting event, taking them to school in the morning. I'm a homebody. I just moved into a new house and I just want to be home. My personal life, my friends, my traveling, dating, all these things will come. And I kind of want to retire in the next like three-ish years, so I'm trying to really make as much money as I can right now so that I can retire and live a much simpler life in a lot of ways. And I look forward to that.

Looking ahead, what are some of your upcoming goals and plans for Uncommon James, your podcast and other projects?

For the next year, I want to open up a store in Austin. Well, I would love to open up a couple more stores. And with the podcast, I want to continue to stay excited about it. And that's through having interesting conversations and thinking outside of the box. I'm really happy with where life is at right now, and if it could stay like this in the next year, I'd be very happy.

TEAM CREDITS:
talent KRISTIN CAVALLARI
photographer DENNIS LEUPOLD
1st photography assistant TOMMY BLANCO
2nd photography assistant SADIE SCOTT
digital tech GRACIE NEWMAN
styling JAI SIMMONS
styling assistant CHADAPHEA SETHIK
hair LORENZO CALDERON
makeup KATE SYNNOTT
executive producer JOHNNY PASCUCCI
project manager MERRY NESTOR
editor TIMI LETONJA
editorial director & interview JANA LETONJA
cover design ARTHUR ROELOFFZEN

IN CONVERSATION WITH KRISTIN CAVALLARI

IN CONVERSATION WITH JAMES CUSATI-MOYER

IN CONVERSATION WITH WHOMADEWHO