TORY BURCH
In a record time, American designer Tory Burch has built a fashion empire from scratch.
She moved to New York just a week after graduating to work for a designer named Zoran. «He looked like Rasputin,» she recalled. After that, Burch remained connected to the fashion world, working at Harper’s Bazaar and later in public relations and advertising departments for brands such as Ralph Lauren, Vera Wang, and Loewe during the time when Narciso Rodríguez was leading the Spanish fashion house.
Despite opposition from those around her, she decided to launch her own brand under her own name. «I like to listen to what people think and feel, but at the end of the day, you have to believe in yourself and follow your instincts,» she declared.
Since launching Tory Burch, a brand with a hippie-chic character dedicated to casual fashion back in 2004, the designer has opened 180 stores and has more than 3,000 points of sale worldwide, with no signs of slowing down. «We see emerging markets as a great opportunity,» she stated.
As the creative director and president of her own brand, and a self-made woman, she recently announced her engagement to Pierre-Yves Roussel, an executive at LVMH, making them one of the most powerful couples in the fashion industry. Previously, Tory Burch had been married twice. With her previous husband, financier Chris Burch, with whom she has three children, she launched her brand in 2004. In 2006, they announced their divorce, which wasn’t finalized until 2012, following a public battle over the brand—one of the biggest success stories in the fashion world.