Tory Burch

Tory Burch (born June 17, 1966; née Robinson) is an American fashion designer, businesswoman, and philanthropist, who has won several fashion awards for her designs. She is the Chairman, CEO, and Designer of Tory Burch LLC. As of 2015, she is listed as the 73rd most powerful woman in the world by Forbes.

Early life and education

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

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. 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 sorority Kappa Alpha Theta. She majored in art history, and graduated in 1988.

Tory Burch (company)

Tory Burch LLC (formerly TRB by Tory Burch), known as Tory Burch, is a fashion label owned and launched by designer Tory Burch.

History

Tory Burch began her fashion label – "TRB by Tory Burch", later known as "Tory Burch" – in February 2004, launching it with a retail store in Manhattan's Nolita district. Most of the inventory sold out on the first day. 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.

Since launch, the company has grown to include 160 Tory Burch stores worldwide, including flagships in New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Rome, Tokyo and Seoul, and ecommerce sites in seven languages. The company’s Shanghai flagship, which launched in 2014, is its largest. 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, including Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman MarcusNordstrom and Bloomingdale's, as well as Harrods, Harvey Nichols,Galeries Lafayette,Lane Crawford and Isetan.