We have decided to celebrate Women’s History Month throughout March by honoring a local native every Wednesday who has made a significant impact in society. This week’s #WomanCrushWednesday that we’re highlighting is fashion designer Tory Burch.
Tory Burch’s career began to take shape here in Philadelphia at University of Pennsylvania where she studied art history. After graduation, Burch took a different turn and held a series of jobs in New York’s fashion industry at Harper’s Bazaar, Ralph Lauren, Vera Wang, and Loewe under Narciso Rodriguez. Eventually, the young socialite was a regular contributor in Vogue’s Talking Fashion section.
Finally in 2004, Burch launched her lifestyle brand and flagship store, Tory by TRB, with help from then-husband Christopher Burch. Although divorced, the line kept the Burch name for the sake of branding when it was later renamed Tory Burch. The brand’s popularity soared in 2005 after an appearance on The Oprah Show; the following day Burch’s website received over eight million hits. From there, the brand continued to grow and the accolades began to pile in, including Burch’s Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Accessory Designer of the Year Award in 2008.
In 2009, Burch decided not only to share her success but to also share her experiences by creating the Tory Burch Foundation. Its mission is to empower “women entrepreneurs and their families in the U.S. through small business loans, mentoring programs and entrepreneurial education.” In addition to providing loans to small business owners, the foundation launched an entrepreneurial education program in 2012 geared towards helping women in the early stages of their small business. As entrepreneurial women ourselves, we appreciate the values of this organization.
Presently, the Tory Burch brand is stronger than ever. In the past year, Forbes has officially added Burch to its annual Billionaires list, though the brand’s net worth has been more than $1 billion for a few years. Just a few short weeks ago, Tory Burch presented her new Fall/Winter 2014 collection at Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week.
