Tory Burch

Tory Burch

Burch in India, 2009 during her trip to Singapore and other Asian countries.
Born Tory Robinson
June 17, 1966
Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, United States
Residence New York City
Education University of Pennsylvania
Occupation Fashion designer
Chairman, CEO and Designer at Tory Burch LLC[1]
Known for Tory Burch line of clothing and accessories
Net worth Increase US$ 1.0 billion (March 2013)[2]
Spouse(s) William Macklowe (1993; divorced)
J. Christopher Burch (1996-2006; divorced)
Awards

2005 Rising Star, Fashion Group International;

2007 brand launch award, Accessories Council of Excellence;
CFDA Accessories Designer of the Year, 2008
Tory Burch logo

Tory Burch (born June 17, 1966; née Robinson) is an American fashion designer, business woman, and philanthropist, who has won several fashion awards for her designs.[3] She is the Chairman, CEO, and Designer of Tory Burch LLC. As of 2014, she is listed as the 79th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes.[4]

Early life and education

Burch was born in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania,[5] the daughter of Reva (née Schapira) and Ira Earl "Bud" Robinson (1923–2007).[6] She was raised with her three brothers (Robert, James and Leonard)[7] in a Valley Forge farmhouse, a 250-year old Georgian near the Valley Forge National Historical Park.[7]

Her father was a wealthy investor who inherited a stock exchange seat and a paper cup company. He dated Grace Kelly and Joan Bennett before marrying Reva, an actress who had dated both Steve McQueen and Marlon Brando.[7] Burch is Jewish on her mother's side.[8][9]

Burch attended the Agnes Irwin School in Rosemont, Pennsylvania, where she rode horses, was captain of the tennis team,[7] and was a friend of jewelry designer Kara Ross (they remain friends today).[10] Her first job was at Benetton in the King of Prussia Mall.[10] She then attended the University of Pennsylvania, where she was a member of the sorority Kappa Alpha Theta. She majored in art history, and graduated in 1988.[7]

Career

Early work

After graduating from college, Tory moved to New York City where she worked for Zoran, a Yugoslavian designer,[7] followed by Harper's Bazaar magazine. She then moved into public relations and advertising positions at Vera Wang,[7][11] Polo Ralph Lauren and Loewe when Narciso Rodriguez was there.[12]

Fashion label

She began a fashion label, "TRB by Tory Burch", later known as "Tory Burch", which launched with a retail store in Manhattan's Nolita district in February 2004.[13][5][14] Most of the inventory sold out on the first day.[15][16] When Oprah Winfrey endorsed her line on The Oprah Winfrey Show in April 2005, calling Burch "the next big thing in fashion", Burch's website received eight million hits the following day.[17][18]

Since launch, the company has grown to include over 140 Tory Burch stores worldwide, including flagships in New York, Los Angeles, London, Rome, Tokyo and Seoul, and ecommerce sites in seven languages.[19][20][21][22][23][19] The company’s Shanghai flagship, which launched in 2014, is its largest.[19] The fashion line, which encompasses ready-to-wear, shoes, handbags, accessories, watches, home decor, and a fragrance and beauty collection, is also carried at over 3,000 department and specialty stores worldwide,[16][24] including Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus[25] Nordstrom and Bloomingdale's,[26] as well as Harrods, Harvey Nichols,[27] Galeries Lafayette,[28] Lane Crawford[29] and Isetan.[30]

In 2009, Tory Burch sold a minority stake in her company to a Mexican private equity firm, Tresalia Capital.[31] Additional minority investors were added in December 2012 in conjunction with the settlement of a legal dispute between Burch and her ex-husband. This settlement is said to have removed a substantial obstacle to a forthcoming IPO, which has been the subject of considerable discussion in the financial and fashion industries.[32][33]

In September 2011, Burch did her first runway fashion show, and has continued to show each season at New York Fashion Week.[34][18][35][36]

In Fall 2013, Burch launched her first fragrance and a beauty capsule collection with Estée Lauder.[37]

In Summer 2014, she introduced a line of accessories for the Fitbit Flex activity-tracking device, making hers the first major fashion brand to move into wearable technology. Fall 2014 marked the publication of her first and bestselling book, Tory Burch in Color, and the launch of watches with Fossil.[19][38] In March 2015, Burch extended her home line with a collection of lettuce ware created in collaboration with Palm Beach artist and potter Dodie Thayer.[39][40][41]

Design style

Burch at 2007 Accessories Council of Excellence awards

Her style has been described as preppy-boho and preppy-bohemian luxe[3] and is associated with her T-logo medallion.[11] Known for being easy to wear and versatile,[7][11][42][43] her styles are popular with women of all ages,[44] including the viewers and fans of the television show Gossip Girl, where they were often featured.[45] In 2007, there were wait lists to buy her fashions,[46] which are known for color and print and often pay homage to styles of the 1960s and 1970s.[47][48][49] Burch named her line of Reva ballerina flats after her mother.[7][50]

Selected television appearances

Year Film Role Notes
2005The Oprah Winfrey ShowGuestApril 4, 2005 episode
2009Gossip GirlHerselfSeason 3, episode 4[51]
2010 Project RunwayGuest judge Season 7, episode 6
2012CBS News Sunday MorningGuestJanuary 29, 2012 episode
Fashion King HerselfCameo
IconoclastsDocumentary subjectSeason 6, episode 4
2014Good Morning AmericaGuestOctober 14, 2014 episode
Charlie RoseIntervieweeOctober 16, 2014 episode[52]

Awards

In 2008, she won the Council of Fashion Designers of America, as the accessories designer of the year.[53] In 2007, she won the Accessory Brand Launch of the year award from the Accessories Council of Excellence.[5][54] In 2005, she won Rising Star Award to Burch for best new Retail Concept from the Fashion Group International.[5] In addition, Burch has consistently been included on Forbes‍ '​ list of “The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.” [55] As of 2014, she is listed as the 79th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes.[4]

Philanthropy

Burch serves on the boards of the Council of Fashion Designers of America,[56] the Society of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center,[57] the Breast Cancer Research Foundation,[58] the Startup America Partnership[59] and the Barnes Foundation.[60] She is a member of the Industry Advisory Board of the Jay H. Baker Retailing Center at the Wharton School of Business,[61] and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.[62] She chaired the 2007 spring gala for the American Ballet Theatre.[63]

In 2009, Burch founded the Tory Burch Foundation, which supports the economic empowerment of women in the U.S. through small business loans, mentoring and entrepreneurial education.[64][65] The foundation is currently partnered with ACCION USA, a non-profit domestic microfinance provider founded in 1991.[66][67][68]

In 2014, the foundation launched Elizabeth Street Capital, an initiative with Bank of America, with an initial investment of $10 million in capital to provide women entrepreneurs with access to low cost loans, mentoring support and networking opportunities. The initiative is named for the location of the first Tory Burch boutique. The foundation also offers an entrepreneurial education program in collaboration with Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses and Babson College. Burch’s stores sell products whose proceeds support the Foundation’s work.[69]

In April 2014, the Obama Administration named Burch an inaugural member of the Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship, a group of successful American businesspeople committed to developing the next generation of entrepreneurs in the U.S. and around the world. Other members of PAGE include Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, and entertainment producer Quincy Jones.[70]

Personal life

In 1993 she married William Macklowe, son of real-estate tycoon Harry B. Macklowe, and was divorced within a year.[71] In 1996 she married J. Christopher Burch,[72] an investor in Internet Capital Group, a venture capital firm founded by Walter Buckley and Ken Fox. Although divorced from Burch in 2006, she continues to use his last name, and for some time continued to live with her children in their New York City apartment; she has three sons and three stepdaughters.[3] She dated Lance Armstrong in 2007.[73][74] More recently, she has been linked to Lyor Cohen.[75][76][77][78]

In January 2013, Forbes magazine estimated that she is now a billionaire with a net worth of $1.0 billion.[79]

Notes

  1. ↑ About Us. ToryBurch.com.
  2. ↑ Forbes Magazine "The World's Billionaires: Tory Burch" March 2013
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Tory Burch". New York. New York Media LLC. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women". Forbes. Forbes. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "About Tory Burch". ToryBurch.com. Archived from the original on July 8, 2007. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
  6. ↑ Ashley Lutz (February 11, 2014). "How Tory Burch Became A Fashion Billionaire In Less Than A Decade". Business Insider.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 Michael Shnayerson (2007-02-01). "An Empire Of Her Own". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2014-10-18.
  8. ↑ Vos is Neias: "New York City - Examining The 'Halacha' If Jewish Fashion Mogul Needs A 'Get'". November 2, 2008.
  9. ↑ Vanessa Grigoriadis (December 2012). "Tory Burch’s Ex Factor". Vanity Fair (magazine).
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 O'Halloran, Caroline (March 18, 2011). "Rock star ascending: Main Line-bred jewelry maker Kara Ross". Mainline Media News. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Kroll, Betsy (2007-09-21). "Tory's Turn". Time (Time Inc.). Retrieved 2008-08-14.
  12. ↑ Tommye Fitzpatrick (2012-09-10). "First Person - Tory Burch Says Work Hard, Think Long Term and Be Patient". Business of Fashion. Retrieved 2013-07-03.
  13. ↑ Wahba, Phil (September 25, 2014). "Tory Burch takes on Ralph Lauren veteran as co-CEO". Fortune. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  14. ↑ Agins, Teri. "How Tory Burch Found Her Stride". Wall Street Journal. February 1, 2008.
  15. ↑ Merkin, Daphne (December 1, 2011). "Perfectly Perfect: Tory Burch". T: The New York Times Style Magazine. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Exclusive: Tory Burch on life 'Perpetually' out of her comfort zone and why big risks pay big dividends". Columbus Business First (McMillan Portillo, Caroline). 2014-07-23. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  17. ↑ Berkus, Nate (January 1, 2008). "Fashion Designer Tory Burch". Oprah.com. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Tory Burch". Voguepedia. Vogue. Archived from the original on August 4, 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 "Tory Burch's Personal Touch". Fast Company (Chu, Jeff). 2010-08-18. Retrieved 2014-08-18.
  20. ↑ "Tory Burch talks expansion". Women’s Wear Daily (Socha, Miles). 2014-03-29. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
  21. ↑ "Tory Burch Celebrates the Opening of her New Manhattan Flagship". So Haute. 2011-09-15. Retrieved 2011-09-15.
  22. ↑ "Tory Burch Toasts New Beverly Hills Store". Women’s Wear Daily (Brown, Rachel). 2014-01-15. Retrieved 2014-01-15.
  23. ↑ "Tory Burch Opens in Seoul". Racked (Lo, Danica). 2010-06-25. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
  24. ↑ "Empowerment in fashion for Tory Burch". San Francisco Chronicle (Zinko, Carolyne). 2013-01-25. Retrieved 2013-01-29.
  25. ↑ "Tory Burch at Neiman Marcus".
  26. ↑ "Tory Burch at Bloomingdales".
  27. ↑ "Join an Exclusive Event at Tory Burch". Splash of Me. February 20, 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  28. ↑ Gilles, Florent (April 1, 2014). "Tory Burch sets up shop in Galeries Lafayette". FashionMag.com. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  29. ↑ "Tory Burch’s First Hong Kong Store". Fashion Industry Network. December 3, 2010. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  30. ↑ "Tory Burch expands into Japan and Korea". Just Style. April 1, 2009. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  31. ↑ "Designer Tory Burch Sells Minority Stake". The New York Times. 2009-07-24. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
  32. ↑ Steigrad, Alexandra. "Battle of the Burches Over", Women's Wear Daily, 2012-12-31. Retrieved on 2013-1-1.
  33. ↑ O'Connor, Claire. "Why Tory Burch Should Be Fashion's Next Billionaire - and How Her Ex Could Stop Her", Forbes, 2012-11-26 (online; in magazine dated 2012-12-10). Retrieved on 2013-1-1.
  34. ↑ Critchell, Samantha (September 13, 2011). "It's the season of newbies at NY Fashion Week". Associated Press. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  35. ↑ "Tory Burch Holds Her First Fashion Show". PerezHilton.com. September 13, 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  36. ↑ "Tory Burch Spring 2014 New York Fashion Week Interviews and Runway". Huffington Post. October 29, 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  37. ↑ Selene Milano (September 26, 2013). "Tory Burch Launches Her First Fragrance and Beauty Collection". InStyle.
  38. ↑ "Best Sellers". New York Times. November 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  39. ↑ Owens, Mitchell (March 11, 2015). "TORY BURCH COLLABORATES WITH SOCIETY’S FAVORITE CERAMIST, DODIE THAYER". Architectural Digest. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  40. ↑ Bray, Sarah (March 10, 2015). "The Preppy Porcelain That's Making A Comeback". Town & Country. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  41. ↑ Moratto, Rié (March 15, 2015). "Dodie Thayer Exclusive Iconic Lettuce Ware Collection For Tory Burch". Portobello Design. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  42. ↑ Horyn, Cathy (2005-09-16). "Frayed Nerves and Visions as Two Worlds Compete". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). Retrieved 2008-08-14.
  43. ↑ Prabhakar, Hitha (2007-03-14). "Tastemakers: Fashion Design". Forbes (Forbes.com LLC). Retrieved 2008-08-15.
  44. ↑ Van Dyk, Deirdre (February 21, 2008). "Who's Holding the Handbag?". Time (Time Inc.).
  45. ↑ La Ferla, Ruth (2008-07-08). "Forget Gossip, Girl; the Buzz Is About the Clothes". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). Retrieved 2008-08-14.
  46. ↑ Kroll, Betsy (2007-02-27). "Pointe Guard". Time (Time Inc.).
  47. ↑ Fisher, Lauren (October 13, 2014). "Preview: Tory Burch in Color". Harper's Bazaar. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  48. ↑ "About the Designer: Tory Burch". Elle.com. Elle. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  49. ↑ Moore, Booth (June 1, 2008). "Stylish, To A 'T'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  50. ↑ Betts, Kate (September 6, 2007). "Style & Design: Global Luxury Survey". Time (Time Inc.).
  51. ↑ "Designers Guest Star on 'Gossip Girl'". wwd.com. Retrieved 2009-08-13.
  52. ↑ "Tory Burch". Charlie Rose. CharlieRose.com (video). October 16, 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  53. ↑ "Letter to Fashion Community 25 August 2008". The Council of Fashion Designers of America.
  54. ↑ "Tory Burch and Kerry Washington". In Style. Time Inc. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
  55. ↑ "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women 28 May 2014". Forbes.
  56. ↑ "CFDA Organization". CFDA.com. 2014.
  57. ↑ "Administrative Board". The Society of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. 2014.
  58. ↑ "Breast Cancer Research Foundation Adds to Board date=13 March 2012". Women’s Wear Daily. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  59. ↑ "Entrepreneur All-Stars Join the Startup America Partnership". the White House. 23 August 2011.
  60. ↑ "New Trustees Elected to the Board of the Barnes Foundation". Black Art in America. 17 January 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  61. ↑ Jay H. Baker Retailing Center – Industry Advisory Board. Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania. Wharton.UPenn.edu. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  62. ↑ Membership Roster – Letter B. Council on Foreign Relations. CFR.org. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  63. ↑ "Pianist Lang Lang to perform at American Ballet Theatre’s opening night". American Ballet Theatre. 23 April 2007. Retrieved 2008-09-22.
  64. ↑ Tory Burch Foundation website
  65. ↑ "Pitch Perfect Isn’t Possible — But Get Up Anyways". The Grindstone. Hale, Katie. 2013-04-15. Retrieved 2013-05-30.
  66. ↑ Burch, Tory (2009-09-17). "Guest Post: Tory Burch on Helping Small Businesses". Fortune. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
  67. ↑ Harman, Gina (2009-09-18). "Tory Burch Raises Awareness and Funds for U.S. Microfinance". AccionUSA. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
  68. ↑ Caroline McMillan Portillo (July 19, 2014). "Billionaire designer Tory Burch says it pays to be generous, scrappy and a little stubborn". BizWomen.com.
  69. ↑ "Defying the Downturn". CNBC.
  70. ↑ "Secretary Pritzker Announces Inaugural Members of the Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship Initiative". www.commerce.gov. 7 April 2014.
  71. ↑ Dave, Urja (2008). "Tory Burch". Retrieved 2010-01-28.
  72. ↑ Fitzsimons, Amanda (2008-08-01). "Tory Burch's Philadelphia". WWDLifestyle. WWD. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
  73. ↑ Silverman, Stephen M. (2007-10-03). "Lance Armstrong, Tory Burch Break Up". People. Time Inc. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
  74. ↑ Salkin, Allen (2008-06-22). "It’s Not About the Bike". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). Retrieved 2008-08-14.
  75. ↑ Johnson, Richard (2008-08-07). "ROSE IN BRIEF". New York Post. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
  76. ↑ Johnson, Richard (2008-08-14). "Hamptons Heavies Love Woody". New York Post. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
  77. ↑ Bankoff, Caroline (2008-08-14). "Morning Memo: No New Baby for Madonna?; The Beatrice Inn's Neighbors Speak Out; Who Owns AshleyDupre.com?". The New York Observer. Observer Media Group. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
  78. ↑ Abravanel, Lesley (2009-04-05). "Scene In The Tropics: The Hoff bypasses booze, but not the photo op". Miami Herald. Retrieved 2009-04-17.
  79. ↑ O'Connor, Clare (2013-01-03). "Fashion Tycoon Tory Burch Becomes A Billionaire (Thanks, In Part, To $200 Ballet Flats)". Forbes. Retrieved 2013-01-07.

External links

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