Lisa Rinna's Holiday Fashion Campaign With Express and Her Family "Was Pure Joy"

Lisa Rinna and her husband, Harry Hamlin, are spending their first holiday season in New York City. With a new place to trim their tree comes a fresh batch of family traditions. And while she doesn't know what her festive fashion will look like beyond L.A., "we've always had Express in our lives," Rinna tells Marie Claire. So, starring in the retailer's holiday campaign with her family—and taking some souvenirs to Manhattan—was a "no-brainer."

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star has posed for fashion campaigns with her daughters, Amelia Gray and Delilah Belle, but never with her husband. "We've recruited Harry as the next supermodel," she says. "A couple months ago, I literally was like, 'Why am I not having you do these campaigns?' I put it out in the universe."

After the Express photoshoot, Hamlin told his wife, "I really like this modeling thing—it's really easy!" Now, his second campaign is slated to come out soon. It seems Hamlin got his wife's memo: "Get to work, buddy."

Of the campaign, Rinna says: "It was pure joy." Despite transforming a 20,000-square-foot house in Hancock Park into a faux Hollywood holiday, the photoshoot "felt very authentic," like a proper farewell to the Decembers the famous family spent in L.A. "It was really easy. We just did our thing, and that's what the holidays are about: joy, getting to spend time with your family and create fun memories," she adds. "And we were able to do that on the shoot that day."

The decadent decorations, tinsel-covered tree, and fresh pine fragrance weren't the only things that made the Express campaign feel like a genuine, festive get-together. "Everything I wore, I could see in my closet today," Rinna says. According to Rinna, the argyle sweater, forest green suit, sequined purple mini dress, and poinsettia red jumpsuit showcased "all the different sides of my personality."

Whether she's dressing up or down during the holidays, "there's choice at Express," Rinna says. "They make complete dressing very easy," referencing the "one-stop holiday" shop's assortment of gloves, hats, scarves, and earmuffs. "I took home a lot," including the black suit—with razor-sharp shoulders, satin lapels, and flared trousers—seen in the commercial. "I've already worn that a couple of times," she says. "[The entire collection] seamlessly incorporated into my wardrobe."

One of Rinna's favorite campaign shots captures her and Delilah sitting on the decked-out stairs. "That [was] magic," she says. The heartwarming moment (with Rinna in a Fair Isle sweater, dark denim, and leopard-print earmuffs, and Delilah in a crimson "Merry & Bright" crewneck) brought the mother of two back to her daughter's childhood.

"Almost everyone" in the Hamlin household was able to attend the Express event, Rinna's youngest daughter, Amelia Gray, aside. But the trendsetter was there in spirit. "Everyone's so busy, so the fact that we did get a group of us together is just really great," she says.

Once it comes time to actually celebrate the holidays, without a camera crew or festive fashion curated by a stylist, everyone will reunite in NYC, where Rinna and her husband are rehearsing for Broadway's It's a Wonderful Life. "We're a big Christmas Eve family," she says. "Then, we usually go to the movies on Christmas Day, but again, it's different because we'll be in NYC... I'm excited to share this experience with my family."