Lauren Conrad's Clothing Line Is Bringing Back The Laguna Beach Era

Lauren Conrad established herself as a fashion girl in 2004, on Season 1 of MTV’s iconic reality show Laguna Beach. In the 22 years since then, many of the styles she wore back in high school have made a comeback — but in her eyes, some things are better left in the past.

Ahead of the Laguna Beach reunion special, premiering April 10 on The Roku Channel, the now-40-year-old tells Bustle that her clothing brand, LC by Lauren Conrad, would “never do super low-rise” jeans again. However, her team has plans that should still satisfy that nostalgic itch for many millennials. “We’re working on a mid-rise [jean] right now, which for my customer feels low,” she says. “For me too.”

Even though micro-rise denim is not in the cards for Conrad’s line, she’s planning to make at least one Y2K trend accessible and modern. “We’ve started incorporating more going-out tops, those kind of more feminine frilly tops that you pair with jeans, which we used to love so much. A lot of that white eyelet ruffle that we would mix with pieces,” she says. “It’s funny, sometimes we’ll look at the mood board and I’ll be like, ‘Oh my gosh, it's coming back.’”

While she left reality TV behind 17 years ago — after starring on the Laguna Beach spinoff, The Hills, from 2006 to 2009 — Conrad’s fashion game is stronger than ever, having designed her Kohl’s line for nearly two decades. “We work on three collections at a time,” she says. “We’re usually working on the concept for one, design for the next month, and then finalization. There are a lot of moving pieces.”

Despite the fast turnaround, Conrad wants each drop to tell “its own story.” “We always want to make sure that it complements the month before and after because we know it’ll sit on the floor together, but we want it to feel different enough that it feels like a refresh,” she says. “We spend a lot of time looking at trends and developing it through our own lens.”

Conrad chalks up her longevity in the fashion world to two things: luck and good timing. “I think the industry has changed a lot, and I honestly don’t think they give out the type of deals that I have anymore,” she says. “Companies have learned that short investments pay off more so they can bring in new talent. I was very lucky to have this partnership a long time ago when people spent more time building a brand, so I’m now at the point where it can stand on its own.”