TORY BURCH

TORY BURCH

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. As of 2014, she is listed as the 79th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes.

Burch was born in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania,[4] the daughter of Reva (née Schapira) and Ira Earl "Bud" Robinson (b. Jan. 6, 1923 - d. Aug. 9, 2007).[5] She was raised with her three brothers (Robert, James and Leonard) [6] in a Valley Forge farmhouse, a 250-year old Georgian near the Valley Forge National Historical Park.

Her mother was an actress who dated both Steve McQueen and Marlon Brando.Her father, who was a wealthy investor, is now deceased. Her father inherited a stock exchange seat and a paper cup company. He dated Grace Kelly and Joan Bennett.Tory's father was fourteen years older than her mother.Burch is Jewish on her mother's side.

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

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

She began a fashion label, "TRB by Tory Burch"—later known as "Tory Burch", in February 2004. The company has grown to include over 120 Tory Burch stores worldwide, including flagships in New York, Los Angeles, London, Rome, Tokyo and Seoul. Her fashion line is carried at over 3,000 department and specialty stores worldwide,including Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus Nordstrom and Bloomingdale's.Her flagship store is in the NoLIta neighborhood of Manhattan.

In April 2005, Oprah Winfrey endorsed her line on The Oprah Winfrey Show. In 2009, Tory Burch sold a minority stake in her company to a Mexican private equity firm, Tresalia Capital. 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.

In Fall 2013, Burch launched her first fragrance and a beauty capsule collection with Estée Lauder.For the 2014 New York Fashion Week, the brand was the first to use Google’s Lightbox, which is Google’s custom brand exchange, to livestream video of the runway show.[36] Brian Zeug, who is Google’s industry director of branded apparel, was involved in the project.
Design style

Her style has been described as preppy-boho and preppy-bohemian luxe and is known for including her T-logo medallion.[20] Some select styles of sunglasses, such as the Rounded Aviator, have the signature logo printed on the lens. Her styles are popular with the viewers and fans of the television show Gossip Girl, which they often appear on, and among different generations.[38] Her style is known for being easy to wear and for being widely part of a versatile wardrobe. In 2007, there were wait lists to buy her fashions, which are representations of and homages to 1950s and 1960s styles Burch named her line of Reva ballerina flats after her mother.

It is hard to believe that in only two years, and without any formal design or business training, Tory built a $2 billion company with a brand that is recognized around the world. It is especially amazing considering she started the business from her kitchen table and cold calling people. Soon she had 16 employees at the table with her. A few years later and one very important Oprah appearance and Tory was a household name. Never one to shy away from helping others, Tory established the Tory Burch Foundation in 2009 to assist women by providing micro-loans to them in various fields. In a recent interview with Fast Company Tory said she was interested in reaching out after she herself had faced challenges as a woman starting a business.

“There’s always a stigma attached to the word ‘ambition’ and women. I’ve embraced it. Ambition is not a four-letter word and women have to embrace that.”