Tory Burch Passes the Torch — to Herself
- Macy Berendsen
- May 18
- 6 min read
What took the designer so long to embrace change?
We all know the Tory Burch sandals — the large, ornate “T” logo smack in the middle of the foot of the preppy corporate women.
Of course, Tory Burch isn’t just for the corporate gal or the Southern mom, but that seemed to be the audience it has long been reaching best. Old Tory Burch was casual luxury that could be considered preppy style. Tory Burch fell into the category of brands common for people in the South to wear because of the notable logo and high price tag, like Lilly Pulitzer or the aptly named Simply Southern. It also presented itself as “corporate girl” to me. (Of course, I’m talking about a 2012 corporate girl and not today’s “office siren” girl.)
After a career in designer public relations, Tory Burch started her brand in 2004, resulting in 20 years of her eponymous label. The Tory Burch brand has been a notable player in the industry and hasn’t fallen off the face of the fashion world — though it might’ve seemed that way for a period of time.
There’s no one specific reason why Tory Burch seemed to fall out of the fashion scene, but there are a couple of contributing factors. Oversaturation and lack of evolution might be the key determinants as to why we all forgot about Tory Burch for a bit. Fashion critic Luke Meagher said this about Burch’s stagnant phase: “While the brand certainly never went away, it did feel like it became just a cog in the American fashion machine alongside the other more commercially-focused brands, rather than experimenting and innovating.” The Tory Burch brand, in essence, was becoming too mass, offering démodé silhouettes and heavily logo-patterned garments.
Similar to the popular Gucci logo belt, heavily logoed items began falling from favor as the 2010s gained momentum. The brand overall didn’t feel as desired as other labels that were continuing to evolve and focus on market appeal, like Michael Kors. In 2018, Kors unveiled a new collection to reestablish the brand as relevant and elevated, to shy away from the Michael Kors designs we frequently see at TJ Maxx.
However, according to a November 2024 post by databutmakeitfashion, a favorite account of mine, Tory Burch found increased popularity — 226%, in fact — through online posts and searches about the brand.
For many people, it seemed like Burch had been randomly awoken from the crypt. But Burch had long-measured plans for her brand, dating all the way back to the pandemic. In an interview for Wallpaper, Burch stated that the COVID-19 pandemic allowed her to pause and reexamine the brand codes she established 20 years prior. “It was a palate cleanser and a restart, to take a step back and think about the essence of where we were, and who I am,” Burch said.
It’s a big risk to completely rebrand your already iconic label, but that risk definitely paid off. According to WWD, Tory Bruch took first place in social engagement during 2025 Fall/Winter New York Fashion Week with an engagement score of 3.2 million, which was a 39% increase from last fall.
Influencer marketing and social engagement, too, have played a massive role in re-inducting Tory Burch into the fashion world and promoting Tory Burch to a wider variety of consumers. In a quote to NYLON, influencer Alix Earle said, “Tory has undeniably evolved. I love that Tory Burch is making collections for the modern woman who wants to look cool, chic, and confident. The looks lately feel elevated, nodding to different women over different eras, like the coats we saw on this last runway, but yet the looks are still strong and a bit sexy, without being too revealing or try-hard.”
Both on and offline, Burch is reaching new audiences that help claim the brand as an “it-girl” or “cool girl” brand. Emily Ratajkowski and Hailey Bieber have worn and promoted Tory Burch throughout the past couple of years. Ratajkowski and Bieber’s model off-duty styles are effortless, simplistic, and deeply contrasting. Ratajkowski pairs a fitted blazer with a wiry bralette or a white cotton dress with cherry-red shoes; Bieber’s style is similar, with fitted cardigans paired with baggy jeans or the addition of a leather jacket over linen pants to create an unusual edge.
Like many other luxury brands, creative directors do not just shift between decades or seasons — they shift between full styles, altering the brand’s DNA. Olivier Rousteing became the creative director of Balmain in 2011 and helped propel the brand back to popularity. Maria Grazia Chiuri became the creative director of Dior Paris and brought back the iconic saddle bag. Jamie Mizrahi debuted the first-ever Juicy Couture dress at the Met Gala in 2018 as Juicy’s creative director.
One of the first big steps in changing the Tory Burch brand was removing Tory Burch herself as CEO, passing the title to Pierre-Yves Russell, who happens to be Burch’s husband (Russell was previously the chairman and CEO of LVMH). With the CEO switch, Burch could go back to focusing heavily on creative direction and design rather than working on the business-heavy side of the brand. “People ask me if it was hard to give up the CEO title. It was the easiest thing I’ve ever done,” Burch told the Washington Post.
Another notable move in the Burch game plan was the addition of Brian Molloy — a notable fashion stylist whose work you can probably recognize via Mary-Kate and Ashley Olson’s effortlessly chic style — who now works at Tory Burch as a fashion editor, putting together looks for runway shows, photoshoots, and campaigns. “I don’t think it was a concerted effort on everyone’s part to be like, ‘Let’s scrap this and start fresh. I think it was like, ‘OK, what do we have to say here? What do we want to say?’” Molly stated to the New York Times.
The SS21 Ready-to-Wear collection is what clued the rest of us in on what was going on with Tory Burch. The new collection was minimalist clothing meant for layering and living in — a far cry from the strappy sandals and office-approved pencil skirts of the 2000s. Comfortable cottons and wools manipulated in functional and versatile silhouettes, like a white cotton dress with an exaggerated collar and baggy yet fitted beige trousers, were modeled against a countryside setting.
An article from Business of Fashion described the collection as “shaking off the global-traveller glam that defined her brand’s ethos for over a decade” and going back to the basics: modern, elevated, and sophisticated, better fit for the minimalism of the 2020s than the excess of the 2000s. But don't worry — the shoes that were a staple of Burch’s brand are still around.
The true secret to this massive rebrand? Handing over the power. Tory Burch was able to take back her creative leadership to get back into the space of what she is most passionate about. “I’ve learned over the past five years that that’s really my passion: women and women’s bodies. How to really make women feel confident. That’s the biggest thing I think about is: How do you make women feel beautiful and confident, like they can tackle a lot of the hard issues that we’re all facing in the world?” said Burch to the Washington Post.
Burch’s success is a case study in what it means to give higher creative control to designers, thinkers, and creative directors. Even in today’s diverse creative landscape, according to Vogue Business, only 8 out of the 33 creative directors in the Vogue Index are female. 1 Granary lists the statistic of female creative directors in fashion at 12%. Not only did Burch take a big risk with her business with her as CEO, she put herself in the minority of being part of the 12% of female creative directors — and it paid off.
One thing’s for sure: Tory Burch is back on my fashion radar – not just for her new elevated designs but for her dedication to herself as a creative. I think we can all take a thing or two out of Tory’s book. 🌀
Macy Berendsen is a writer based in Chicago. She can be found online at @macyberendsen.
