Tory Burch

Infobox Fashion Designer
name = Tory Burch

---

caption = Burch at 2007 Accessories Council of Excellence awards (November 5, 2007)
birth_date = birth date and age|1966|6|15
birth_place = city-state|Valley Forge|Pennsylvania
USA
death_date =
death_place =
residence = The Pierre
city-state|New York|New York
nationality = American
education = University of Pennsylvania
label_name = Tory Burch
awards = 2005 Rising Star, Fashion Group International;
2007 brand launch award, Accessories Council of Excellence;
CFDA Accessories Designer of the Year, 2008
known_for = Bohemian chic accessories
occupation = Fashion designer

Tory Burch (born, June 15, 1966, née Robinson) is an Amercan fashion designer, socialite, businessperson, and celebrity who was born, raised and educated in the Philadelphia metropolitan area and is described as having Main Line roots. Her parents had been a part of the Hollywood celebrity culture and were part of Philadelphia high society. Thus, Burch was raised in an upper-class home with the live-in household help.

After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, she moved to New York City, where she pursued her professional career with various leading fashion industry businesses. While living in New York city, she maintained personal relationships with a series of extremely wealthy men. With the financial savvy of her former second husband, she began a fashion label in February 2004 in New York City. The label was an immediate success and was even endorsed by Oprah Winfrey the following year. The label has opened stores in several large American cities and has lines that are sold in several upscale specialty department stores. Burch has won several fashion awards for her designs, and she continues to be involved in high profile personal relationships within the social elite of New York City.

Personal

Born in city-state|Valley Forge|Pennsylvania, Burch was raised with her three brothers (Robert, James and Leonard) in a Valley Forge farmhouse where her mother, Reva Robinson, still lived in 2008. The house is a 250-year old Georgian near the Valley Forge National Historical Park. The house sat on a convert|30|acre|ha|1|lk=on|adj=on lot that has been reduced to convert|15|acre|ha|1 more recently. Her mother is a former actress who dated Steve McQueen and Yul Brynner.cite web|url=http://www.toryburch.com/about_featured_article.aspx?id=849|title=An Empire Of Her Own|accessdate=2008-08-14|date=2007-02-01|publisher=Tory Burch, LLC.|work=Vanity Fair] Her father, Buddy Robinson, who was a wealthy investor and who was still living in early 2007,cite web|url=http://www.cityfile.com/profiles/tory-burch|title=Tory Burch|accessdate=2008-08-14|date=|publisher=Cityfile Inc.|work=Cityfile New York] is deceased.cite web|url=http://www.wwd.com/lifestyle-news/tory-burchs-philadelphia-1343393?|title=Tory Burch's Philadelphia|accessdate=2008-08-14|date=2008-08-01|publisher=WWD|work=WWDLifestyle|author=Fitzsimons, Amanda] Her father inherited a stock exchange seat and a paper cup company, but sold the company, and he dated Grace Kelly and Joan Bennett. Tory's father was fourteen years older than her mother.

Tory served as captain of the tennis team and rode horses at Agnes Irwin School. Tory attended the University of Pennsylvania, where she majored in art history. She was raised in a house with a family of live-in housekeepers. She is from a Jewish family, but her family celebrated Christmas and Easter.

At the University of Pennsylvania, she met Matthew Taylor Mellon, III (heir to the and eventual husband of Tamara Mellon, the Jimmy Choo Ltd founder). They dated when she moved to New York after graduation. At age twenty-six, she married William "Billy" Macklowe, son of Harry Macklowe, and they honeymooned in city-state|Phuket|Thailand. They soon divorced.

She met Chris Burch who was fourteen years her senior. They argued about the need for a pre-nuptial agreement and decided not to have one. From 1997 (1996 by one source)–2006 she was married to Burch. She got pregnant with twins on their honeymoon. Her husband was one of the first investors in Internet Capital Group, which was a B2B company that eventually went public during the dot-com bubble. They considered purchasing Saul Steinberg's duplex at 740 Park Avenue (and were mentioned in Michael Gross' book "740 Park"), but Stephen Schwartzman, Blackstone Group co-founder, paid a reported $37 million for it. They purchased a speculation house in Southampton and hired Daniel Romualdez to renovate it before he had developed his 21st century reputation. He eventually did their Pierre Hotel residence and their stores.

After her divorce she was linked to Ron Perelman. [cite web|url=http://www.phillymag.com/articles/pulse_tory_tory_tory/|title=Pulse: Tory! Tory! Tory!: Thanks to a rumored nasty divorce and a new relationship with Revlon's Ron Perelman, Philly fashion girl Tory Burch is the buzz of Manhattan|accessdate=2008-08-14|date=February 2007|publisher=Metrocorp, Inc.|work=Philadelphia|author=Callahan, Michael] Then, throughout most of 2007 (until October) she dated Lance Armstrong. [cite web|url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20130255,00.html|title=Lance Armstrong, Tory Burch Break Up|accessdate=2008-08-14|date=2007-10-03|publisher=Time Inc.|work=people|author=Silverman, Stephen M.] [cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/22/fashion/22lance.html?|title=It’s Not About the Bike|accessdate=2008-08-14|date=2008-06-22|publisher=The New York Times Company|work=The New York Times|author=Salkin, Allen] More recently, she has been linked to Lyor Cohen with whom she made page six in August 2008. [cite web|url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/08072008/gossip/pagesix/rose_in_brief_123332.htm|title=ROSE IN BRIEF|accessdate=2008-08-15|date=2008-08-07|publisher=NYP Holdings|work=New York Post|author=Johnson, Richard] [cite web|url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/08142008/gossip/pagesix/hamptons_heavies_love_woody_124339.htm|title=HAMPTONS HEAVIES LOVE WOODY|accessdate=2008-08-15|date=2008-08-14|publisher=NYP Holdings|work=New York Post|author=Johnson, Richard] [cite web|url=http://www.observer.com/2008/style/morning-memo-aug-14|title=Morning Memo: No New Baby for Madonna?; The Beatrice Inn's Neighbors Speak Out; Who Owns AshleyDupre.com?|accessdate=2008-08-15|date=2008-08-14|publisher=Observer Media Group|work=The New York Observer|author=Bankoff, Caroline] After the divorce from Burch, she continued to live with her children in the convert|9000|sqft|m2|lk=on|adj=on apartment in The Pierre that has Central Park views. Her husband moved to Carlyle Hotel.

Burch has three sons and three stepdaughters. As of March 2008, her children were twins Henry and Nicholas, age 11, and Sawyer, 7 and her step children were Pookie, 23; Izzie, 22, and Louisa, 19. She delayed her career to raise her children. [cite web|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B01EFD61231F932A15750C0A9629C8B63|title=POSSESSED; From Old Vienna, Luck to Go|accessdate=2008-08-14|date=2004-03-21|publisher=The New York Times Company|work=The New York Times|author=Colman, David]

Business

When she graduated from college her mother helped her get a job with Zoran, a Yugoslavian designer who her mother had been a regular customer of. With the help of her sister-in-law (by her oldest brother) Patty Isen, she soon changed jobs to work at "Harper's Bazaar" magazine.cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1664387,00.html|title=Tory's Turn|accessdate=2008-08-14|date=2007-09-21|publisher=Time Inc.|work=Time|author=Kroll, Betsy] Subsequently, Tory became a copywriter for Polo Ralph Lauren at a time when Calvin Klein and Lauren were the premier fashion jobs. In 1995, she left Lauren to work for Vera Wang in the same building where Chris Burch had offices and where he employed Tory's sister-in-law Isen.

Burch worked in public relations, not design, for Ralph Lauren, Vera Wang, and Loewe before starting her own brand. Her fashion label known as "TRB by Tory Burch"—later as "Tory Burch"—began as a business operation in her Upper East Side apartment and very quickly blossomed into six free-standing boutiques. In February 2004, Tory Burch opened a flagship store in the NoLIta neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City.cite web|url=http://www.toryburch.com/about.aspx|title=About Tory Burch|accessdate=2008-08-14|publisher=ToryBurch.com] cite web|url=http://www.toryburch.com/asseen_detail.aspx?id=1058|title=How Tory Burch Found Her Stride|author=Teri Agins|date=2008-02-01|accessdate=2008-09-24|publisher=Wall Street Journal] The store was almost completely sold out on the first day. She now has locations in Atlanta, Costa Mesa, Dallas, East Hampton, Houston, Greenwich, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and San Francisco [cite web|url=http://www.toryburch.com/stores.aspx|title=Tory Burch Stores|accessdate=2008-09-24] as well as her fashion line is carried in Neiman Marcus [cite web|url=http://www.neimanmarcus.com/store/catalog/templates/P9.jhtml?itemId=cat14310735&parentId=cat9210745&masterId=cat8450747&navAction=saleIndex|title=Tory Burch at Neiman Marcus] and Bloomingdale's. [cite web|url=http://www1.bloomingdales.com/search/index.ognc?SearchTarget=*&Keyword=tory+burch&KEYWORD_GO_BUTTON.x=0&KEYWORD_GO_BUTTON.y=0&KEYWORD_GO_BUTTON=KEYWORD_GO_BUTTON|title=Tory Burch at Bloomingdales] She leveraged her status as a New York City socialite to start her company.cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/03/fashion/03TORY.html?|title=Don't Call Her Socialite|accessdate=2008-08-14|date=2004-10-03|publisher=The New York Times Company|work=The New York Times|author=Patner, Josh] Her venture capitalist ex-husband, Chris Burch, remained co-chairman of the company three years after it started. Stories about her and her fashion line have been in a broad spectrum of magazines and newspapers, [cite web|url=http://www.toryburch.com/about_featured.aspx|title=About Tory Burch: Tory Burch Press|accessdate=2008-08-14|publisher=ToryBurch.com] and in April 2005, Winfrey endorsed her line on the "The Oprah Winfrey Show".cite web|url=http://nymag.com/fashion/fashionshows/designers/bios/toryburch/|title=Tory Burch|accessdate=2008-08-14|publisher=New York Media LLC|work=New York]

Her company produces caftans, sequined cardigans, children’s swimwear, jewelry, handbags, and shoes. The style has been described as Preppy-boho and Preppy-bohemian luxe. Her styles are popular with the viewers and fans of the television show "Gossip Girl", which they often appear on, [cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/08/fashion/08gossip.html?|title=Forget Gossip, Girl; the Buzz Is About the Clothes|accessdate=2008-08-14|date=2008-07-08|publisher=The New York Times Company|work=The New York Times|author=La Ferla, Ruth] and her style transcends generations. [cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/style_design/article/0,28804,1714683_1714625_1714280,00.html|title=Who's Holding the Handbag?|accessdate=2008-08-14|date=2007 Style & design issue|publisher=Time Inc.|work=Time|author=Van Dyk, Deirdre] Her style is known for being easy to wear. [cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/16/fashion/shows/16fashion.html?|title=Frayed Nerves and Visions as Two Worlds Compete |accessdate=2008-08-14|date=2005-09-16|publisher=The New York Times Company|work=The New York Times|author=Horyn, Cathy] In 2007, there were wait lists to buy her fashions, [cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1594145,00.html|title=Pointe Guard|accessdate=2008-08-14|date=2007-02-27|publisher=Time Inc.|work=Time|author=Kroll, Betsy] which are hallmark representations of and homages to 1950s and 1960s fashions. [cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/style_design/article/0,28804,1659346_1659838_1659836,00.html|title=Style & Design: Global Luxury Survey|accessdate=2008-08-14|date=2007 Style & design issue|publisher=Time Inc.|work=Time|author=Betts, Kate] Her fashions are known for including her T-logo medallion. Her clothing is versatile enough to be part of the wardrobe of a clientele ranging from working women and soccer moms to socialites and wealthy women. [cite web|url=http://www.forbes.com/style/2007/03/13/tastemaker-designer-fashion-forbeslife-cx_hp_0314fashion.html|title=Tastemakers: Fashion Design|accessdate=2008-08-15|date=2007-03-14|publisher=Forbes.com LLC|work=Forbes|author=Prabhakar, Hitha] Burch named her popular line of Reva ballerina flats after her mother. Burch is known as one of the leaders in turning the t-shirt into a fashion item. [cite web|url=http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/1107682,CST-FTR-Tshirt14.article|title=THE FASHION T-SHIRT | Find the right look for your body type |accessdate=2008-08-15|date=2008-08-14|publisher=Digital Chicago, Inc.|work=Chicago Sun-Times|author=Sedgwick, Jessica]

In 2008, she beat Marc Jacobs and Michael Kors for the Council of Fashion Designers of America, as the accessories designer of the year. [cite web|url=http://www.cfda.com/index.php?option=com_cfda_content&task=news_display_all|title=LETTER TO FASHION COMMUNITY 08/25/2008|publisher=The Council of Fashion Designers of America] In 2007, she won the Accessory Brand Launch of the year award from the Accessories Council of Excellence. [cite web|url=http://www.instyle.com/instyle/parties/party/0,,20158510_20363599,00.html|title=Tory Burch and Kerry Washington|accessdate-2008-08-15|date=|publisher=Time Inc.|work=In Style] In 2005, she won Rising Star Award to Burch for best new Retail Concept from the Fashion Group International.

ocialite

Her parents were part of Philadelphia high society. Now, she is known as an extremely well-connected socialite. She was co-chair of the American Ballet Theater Spring Gala in 2007 along with Caroline Kennedy, Carolina Herrera, Susan Fales-Hill (Misty Copeland's sponsor), Dayssi Olarte de Kanavos, and Sloan Lindemann Barnett. [cite web|url=http://www.abt.org/insideabt/news_display.asp?News_ID=189|title=Pianist Lang Lang to perform at American Ballet Theatre's opening night|accessdate=2008-09-22|date=2007-04-23|publisher=American Ballet Theater|author=American Ballet Theater] She is also active in a variety of socialite activities such as the passing out gift bags at the The Lung Cancer Research Foundation’s “Strides for Life” Race. [cite web|url=http://www.observer.com/2008/style/monday-august-25|title=Tory returns|accessdate=2008-08-15|date=2008-08-12|publisher=Observer Media Group|work=The New York Observer|author=Bryan, Meredith] Her success at transitioning from socialite to business mogul is considered the type of success that many socialites aspire to. [cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/05/fashion/05socialites.html?|title=Could You Call Them ‘Business Climbers’?|accessdate=2008-08-14|date=2006-11-05|publisher=The New York Times Company|work=The New York Times|author=Boncompagni, Tatiana]

Notes

External links

* [http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/06/10/fashion/20080611_CRITICAL_SLIDESHOW_index.html? June 2008 New York Times Slideshow of NoLIta store]