Tory Burch on Feeling Like a New Designer After Twenty Years in Business

After 20 years in business, designer Tory Burch is capturing the zeitgeist as never before. On the release of her latest perfume, Sublime, she talks about her first memories of scent, origami skirts, and why there’s never been a better time to be a designer in New York.

Long gone are the days when the name Tory Burch conjures images of Reva ballet flats, waspy Upper East Siders or ladies who lunch. “I feel like a new designer,” Burch says.

Given the fickle nature of fashion, we’re often taught to think of a brand’s survival in dog years; one day you’re in and next you’re yesterday’s news. Yet after 20 years in business – and thanks to an experimental new approach to design – Burch has staged what netizens are calling “the Toryssance”, and she’s firmly back in the hot seat. Not that she ever truly left the spotlight, but there’s a new edge and cachet to Burch’s aesthetic, which won her the American Womenswear Designer of the Year award at the Council of Fashion Designers in 2023 – and this year she was named by Time as one of the world’s 100 most influential people.

Being able to turn her focus more to design is thanks to her husband, Pierre-Yves Roussel, the former CEO of LVMH Fashion Group, who joined as Tory Burch CEO in 2019. A year later, under Roussel’s leadership, the brand embarked on a partnership with Shiseido to develop perfumes. The latest is Sublime.

Burch describes the perfume, which has notes of leather, delicate rose, osmanthus flower, earthy vetiver and mandarin, as the “perfect balance of sensuality and strength.” Collaborating on the masculine-yet-feminine scent with perfumers Rodrigo Flores-Roux and Christine Hassan, Burch also enlisted creative director Malin Ericson on the architectural flacon. “Sublime represents the evolution of our brand and where we are today,” she says, adding that “fearless” Kendall Jenner, with whom she shares similar values, was the perfect female to front the campaign.

On the release of Sublime, Burch talks about her journey of reinvention and celebrating 20 years as a brand.

The campaign for Sublime was shot by celebrated photographers Mert Atlas and Marcus Piggot. How does it reflect the scent itself?
It was an incredible collaboration with so many talented people, including Mert & Marcus, Lina Kutsovskaya of Be Good Studios, our partners at Shiseido and, of course, Kendall Jenner.

Everything about Sublime represents the evolution of our brand and where we are today: the campaign, the twisted logo and the fragrance itself with its juxtaposition of notes.

Why is Kendall Jenner the right woman to front the campaign?
Kendall has a quiet power. She’s fearless, she’s an entrepreneur and she truly represents confidence, sensuality and strength. We met on a shoot in 2016 and I’ve been intrigued by her ever since. We share many of the same values: family, our work ethic, our love of animals and sport.

Creative director Malin Ericson, who’s collaborated with a number of luxury brands,  worked on the bottle design. What brief did you give him?
The bottle is an abstract, three-dimensional take on our Double T. I wanted it to be sculptural and architectural, something that would look beautiful on your vanity. It reminds me of the Guggenheim Museum. There’s a purity that I love, with a twisted logo that represents the evolution of our brand.

Can you remember your first memory of scent? 
My mother’s organic garden in the 1970s.

You’ve recently gained attention for a new direction in design aesthetics, with much talk of a Tory Burch renaissance. What inspired such a change? And how does it feel to be so buzzy after 20 years in business? 
Our collections have become a much more personal reflection of my aesthetic. I’ve grown and evolved over time, and I really learned to believe in myself as a designer. It’s gratifying that people are seeing the change, but it didn’t happen overnight; the journey started around 10 years ago, when I began working on Tory Sport. It was all about creativity, form, and innovation, and it gave me clarity on how I wanted our company to evolve. 

I knew I needed to find the right person to take on my CEO role so I could focus entirely on design. That turned out to be my husband, Pierre-Yves Roussel.

You now have an atelier in your head office. How has that changed the way you work? 
It’s changed everything. It allows us to experiment and take risks in real time, as well as partner closely with our team of incredible seamstresses and pattern-cutters until we get it just right.

You’ve become more experimental with your designs. Do you have any recent examples of working with new fabrics or silhouettes that you’ve enjoyed? 
For fall 2024, we experimented with architectural tailoring and geometric shapes. Our wool ‘lampshade’ skirt with bonded seams almost folds flat, like origami.

You celebrated 20 years as a brand this year. What’s changed in the way you approach doing business since then? 
It’s hard to sum up 20 years, and in many ways it feels like we’re beginning again. We’re still on our journey of reinvention, and I want to keep challenging myself and taking risks. I’ve never felt so free to explore my creativity and vulnerability; I feel like a new designer.

What was an important first break for the brand in becoming what it is today? Was there ever a time when you nearly gave up?
When we were featured on Oprah as “the next big thing in fashion”; we got eight million visitors on our website – it was such an exciting time. There’ve been extraordinary highs and lows, but I never give up. I get my tenacity and grit from my mother.

You’ve said you’re inspired by art, travel and women. Can you give an example of a recent discovery or inspiration?
The Great Women Artists podcast by Katy Hessel. She interviews historians and recently featured one of my favourite contemporary artists, Karon Davis.

Is New York still a great place to be a designer? 
It’s never been a better time to be a designer in New York. There’s so much to be inspired by – the energy, the creativity, the people. And emerging designers like Diotima’s Rachel Scott, Colleen Allen and Connor McKnight are bringing a fresh perspective to New York Fashion Week.