Lauren Ratner's World: Life as the Marketing It Girl, Building a $1 Billion Beauty Brand With Hailey Bieber, and Her Capsule Wardrobe
Step into the universe of the coolest creatives in the fashion industry with our seriesMy World, where readers will discover how the top stylists, designers, and tastemakers built their careers; their favorite restaurants, beloved albums, and fashion finds; etiquette rules they stand by; and so much more.
Innovative, savvy, trailblazing, and creative—these words only begin to capture the essence of Lauren Ratner. This probably isn't surprising when you consider that Ratner is the brand builder of her generation. She cofounded Rhode, beauty's buzziest business, in 2022 with Hailey Bieber and her husband, Michael D. Ratner, and in a move that dominated headlines, the brand was acquired by e.l.f. Beauty for $1 billion (the fastest beauty brand to exit to $1 billion in history). Insert mic drop here. Well, actually not. There's more to say.
Ratner's success didn't just start with Rhode. She also worked at other major brands, including Michael Kors and Reformation, and even launched her own company, LER Consulting. Oh, it's also worth noting that she accomplished all of this before turning 35 and was included on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2020.
Rhode expanded into Sephora this fall in the U.S. and the UK with a record-breaking debut (more on that later), and throughout all of this, Ratner announced her pregnancy! Ratner is doing it, and her world is nothing short of inspiring.
Below, Ratner shares more about her life as the marketing It girl. Step into Ratner's world.
Can you briefly explain your career journey to where you are now, founding and leading one of the biggest names in beauty?
My background has always been in brand building, marketing, and working directly with founders to bring their vision to life and into a commercial product. Storytelling has always been a deep passion of mine and an important part of my career journey—how you communicate an idea through creative visuals, innovative content, and thoughtful product messaging. This is a big part of how we built Rhode and what I focus on today in my role.
Previously, I've worked at both larger, more established companies like Michael Kors and high-growth startups like Reformation, which has given me a breadth of experience and helped me hone different skill sets that I've been able to apply to my journey at Rhode.
How did you initially start working with Hailey Bieber, and what is that relationship like?
