Tory Burch may live in New York, but the idea behind her Spring 2008 Collection is straight out of California. Inspired by Palm Springs in the '60s, Burch enlisted soft, sleek colors to create a singular vision. Imagine the desert at dusk: Gorgeous light casts brushstrokes of pink, blue, and gold. Now imagine that color wheel on a runway, where the airy designs produce a quiet, understated chic. Apply famed architect Mies van der Rohe's "less is more" theory and the result is Burch's latest line.
Where else does Burch draw inspiration? She turns inward, mining her childhood in Pennsylvania. “My parents were icons of style. My mother wore Yves Saint Laurent and Valentino. At the same time, she’d visit Turkey or North Africa and bring back exotic jewelry and textiles. And my dad was what you’d call a dandy,” she laughs. “He was the first man in Philadelphia to wear Gucci loafers.”
Not only did Burch inherit her parents’ fashion-forward genes, she parlayed them into a successful empire. Her résumé includes stints in Public Relations at Zoran, Ralph Lauren, and Vera Wang, but she made her entrepreneurial mark when she launched her eponymous label in 2004. What began as the Tory by TRB line in an Upper East Side apartment transformed into the Tory Burch brand, which found its niche among polished sophisticates and expanded quickly. A year after her debut she earned the gold standard of endorsements when she appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show. That same year Fashion Group International awarded her the Rising Star Award. And in 2007 Burch’s new line of shoes and handbags won the Accessories Council Excellence (ACE) Award for Accessory Brand Launch. What’s impressive is that she accomplished all of this without any formal training.
Most refreshing is Burch’s refusal to become a slave to fashion. Her advice to women: “Don’t take trends too literally. That’s where you get into trouble. Style isn’t about fads—it’s about knowing what looks good on you, then putting your personal stamp on it.” And for those who need a little inspiration, Burch suggests some California dreaming.
To read the Fern Seigel interview in its entirety, click here to see the NM Insite exerpt.
