Tory Burch Talks Tory Sport
Tory Burch Talks Tory Sport
A glance down at the feet of a preppy colleague will often result in spotting Tory Burch’s logo shining up at you from a pair of flats. The double-t medallion branding has come to represent the designer in many minds. Now, a glance at your athletic neighbor, or a friend inclined toward the athleisurewear style, may create a new at-glance recognition of Burch’s designs – and her next billion-dollar venture.
Many companies have begun offering athletic wear, riding the wave of fitness fanaticism and athleisurewear fashionability, but Burch doesn’t simply want to take advantage of a fad. “We didn’t want it to be a second part of the brand, like a second line,” she told Business of Fashion on Monday. “We wanted it to be more.”
Where does one begin when designing an athletic brand, after offering 12 years of colorful classics through a distinctly personal lens – which appealed to the collective personal style of preppy dressers and beyond, through effortless wearability? “The starting point was [Wes Anderson’s film] ‘The Royal Tenenbaums,’” Burch stated in the same interview, “Which to me, just sort of epitomised the way I grew up and looked at sport.” The company’s senior director of design and development Kerstin Dorst chimed in on the established theme, “We don’t want to lose that ‘70s inspiration,” she explained, “We feel so confident about it.”
The clothing has also been rigorously designed to not only provide a style aspect, but to actually perform in an athletic manner. “Innovation starts at the very base with raw materials,” Dorst explained to Business of Fashion. “What is the finest yarn we can get? For instance, our legging fabric is super lightweight due to the structure, but the dense interlock makes it secure so that there is no see-through-ness.”
Both the co-chief executive officer and the creative director of her eponymous company, Burch has had a sportswear line in the works for several years now. “I guess three, four or five years ago it wasn’t as clear as it is today that it’s a shift in the way women are dressing,” Burch stated in the interview with Business of Fashion. “It was more an instinct; something that I was personally missing and thought could be a nice addition to our company.” And Burch’s instincts are spot-on, as they have been from her design beginnings – in a mere 12 years she managed to create a multi-billion dollar company based on chic, accessible luxury, and has set herself up to create another.
Tory Burch Talks Tory Sport
