This Woman's Work

Tory Burch is entering its next chapter, with a more directional vision that has resulted in more thoughtfully designed and refined fashion. The designer dives deep into what triggered her new outlook and what makes her tick these days

- Jeffrey Yan

For anyone who has been watching closely, it is obvious that a subtle shift has been brewing at Tory Burch HQ. It first became noticeable in the designer's early pandemic collections, but really solidified in her spring/summer 2022 Claire McCardell tribute collection. McCardell was a trailblazing mid-century designer and arguably the inventor of American sportswear. Beyond their American roots, both designers share a drive to create clothing inspired by and relevant to their lives-McCardell's as a woman in a rapidly changing and modernising world; Burch's as a 21st-century working mother in New York City juggling multiple balls. By looking back at McCardell's impact on fashion history, something clicked into place in the forward march of Tory Burch. The signature sportswear ease and uptown polish that have been Burch's calling card since she launched her brand in 2004 are still there, but now they are cut with a frisson of edge-a certain tension that snaps the clothes and Burch's fashion message into sharper focus. To put it in fashion speak: whereas before, her clothes can veer towards the "commercial", now they read as "editorial". Here, Burch tells us more about her creative reset and the evolution of her brand.

I want to bring it back to a few years ago when the pandemic just started. There was a lot of talk in the industry about doing things differently. What were your own thoughts or realisations in that period and how have they manifested in your work?