Fashion and Art: Tory Burch

Derek C. BlasbergYour most recent fashion show was at the Museum of Modern Art [MoMA] last spring. I saw you again there earlier this week when the museum honored Glenn Lowry, the outgoing director. Let’s start our conversation about fashion and art here.

Tory BurchGlenn was at MoMA for thirty years. What an incredible tenure. And his wife is wonderful too. I feel very, very fortunate [to have hosted my Fall 2025 runway show in the museum] because I’ve always wanted to do it there. I’ve always been obsessed with the garden, the sculptures, just the history of the museum. It’s one of the most extraordinary museums in the world. And, it was started by three women.

DCBDid you read that book MoMA published last year, Inventing the Modern, which was all about those women?

TBAbby Aldrich Rockefeller, Lillie P. Bliss, and Mary Quinn Sullivan.

DCBNot to oversimplify a fashion show, but was it easy to pull yours off in a museum? I attend many shows, and I love it when they’re held in an inspiring setting such as a museum. But I can’t imagine it’s easy.

TBI wouldn’t say it was easy, no. You may recall that it was on two floors, with live streaming and models going up and down the stairs. The goal was to create a dialogue between the two spaces. The museum made it as easy as possible, but we had to figure it out.

DCBI love that you use these types of New York institutions for your shows. Last year you were in the Richard Gilder Center [for Science, Education, and Innovation] at the American Museum of Natural History, and that was the first show in the cool new cavelike atrium that Jeanne Gang designed. Before that you showed in the garden of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum on Fifth Avenue and 91st Street.

TBThe Cooper Hewitt shows were outdoors, and I was a little tired of doing a weather dance. Our luck was going to run out at some point!

DCBHave museums always been a part of your life? Did you go to them often as a kid?

TBI was thinking about that before I saw you today—when did art first enter my life? In a way, my childhood was my introduction. Being exposed to beauty was an essential part of our upbringing. My parents were always collectors, but they never focused on value; it was always about style and things that they loved. It was super eclectic. They both loved folk art, and porcelain was almost an obsession. That was my first experience of appreciating art, which I only sort of realize now.

DCBBasically your mom was curating a life in Philadelphia.

TBShe was a curator. I’m not sure she knew that, but maybe she did.

DCBI’ve met your mom! She knows.

TBOkay, she definitely knew. My dad was an aesthete. When I was older, we would go to museums. I was an art history major at the University of Pennsylvania, and I would often visit the old Barnes Foundation and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. As a family we would visit various cities, and it was a thing, but it wasn’t something we did every weekend. And my dad loved auctions. Obsessed.

DCBReally? For what?

TBEverything. He collected armor. I remember there was this crazy Hearst Castle sale; I’m sure the estate was selling some of the leftovers, and we had some.

DCBWhole suits of armor?

TBThey were fans of very odd things. I’ll have to find pictures of our house.

DCBI love thinking about you in Philadelphia. Do you remember when you organized a trip several years ago for a big group of us to visit the Barnes together? I loved that excursion.

TBWasn’t that fun? We got on the train, toured the museum’s new exhibition space, and then had an early dinner before heading back to New York. I kind of want to do it again. I’m on the board of the museum—

DCBYes! Do it again! I’m RSVPing yes right now.

TBWe did that long table with the dinner, and Jeff [Koons] was on the end. And we took Amtrak. That was an enjoyable trip that you don’t get to do often.

DCBYou put together a fantastic group of people from the art world, the fashion world, and the culture world at large. That’s something I love about New York: the art world and the fashion world, which are sometimes so separated, coexist here.

TBThere’s a lot of crossover for me.

DCBEarlier this year, for the Met Gala, you collaborated with Rashid Johnson, right?

TBRashid is a great friend, and so is Sheree Hovsepian, his wife, who is also an artist. Working with him was an incredible honor, and with this year’s theme [Superfine: Tailoring Black Style], it was an important collaboration for me. We were introduced to Janicza [Bravo, the filmmaker] through Jeremy O. Harris, who I admire so much; he’s a force. We had a call, and Rashid said, “I want to dress the Toni Morrison of today,” and Jeremy brought up Janicza.

DCBOf course they collaborated on that movie, Zola [2020], which was incredible.

TBWhen I got to know Janicza I fell in love with her of course. Working together was pretty inspiring.

DCBRemind me, you incorporated a Rashid print into Janicza’s ensemble?

TBWe visited Rashid’s studio downtown and he showed us his work. We interpreted three of his pieces through embellishments—micro-sequins, flocking, 3D silicone, painted foil. It required multiple techniques to capture the intensity and depth of his work. For the silhouette, I’d seen an image of Belle da Costa Greene, [the legendary librarian] of the Morgan Library, and Janicza had found nearly the same photo. It was this incredible workmanship, achieved through collaboration. I’m very proud of it.

DCBDid you have fun at the Met Gala? In addition to Rashid and Janicza, I know you brought your son, Henry.

TBI did. Bringing Henry was the best part. I’ve never brought my boys to anything like that.

DCBAltogether [between you and your husband, Pierre-Yves,] you have nine kids. How did you land on one?

TBWell, I sent an email to all the kids and I said, “I have one ticket, you pick.” And they all literally wrote back within fifteen minutes and said, “Henry!”

DCBThat worked out. I know you also had Pamela Anderson at your table, and your sons are friendly.

TBThat’s how I met Pamela, actually. I think it’s so lovely that she works with her sons.

DCBI agree. They were producers on her Netflix documentary and they’re involved in her career now. Gia Coppola was the director of The Last Showgirl, which Pamela was in last year, and she tells a story that she sent the script to Pamela’s agent, who shot her down. But she tracked down Pamela’s son, showed him the project, and Pamela loved it. Pamela said that the agent is no longer her agent. Ha!

TBI like Pamela. I think she’s super interesting and I love what she’s doing; I like the second act. At this point, she’s raised her kids and she’s focusing on herself. She’s obviously beautiful, but she’s also smart and a great person.

DCBThe week before the Met Gala you hosted the first fundraising event for the Tory Burch Foundation—your nonprofit focused on empowering women entrepreneurs by providing access to capital, education, and community. At this event you introduced some of the incredible women whose businesses have benefited from the foundation, and you then moderated a Q&A with Martha Stewart, the OG female entrepreneur.

TBThat was one of the first times that we’ve shown the work we’ve been doing for fifteen years in a significant way, in a very public way.

DCBYou started the foundation when you started the brand, right?

TBIt was in my business plan from the beginning. When I would pitch investors to raise money, they told me to never use “business” and “purpose” in the same sentence. I said I wanted to start a global lifestyle brand so I could start a foundation, and they basically patted me on the back and told me to never to say that again.

DCBHow patronizing!

TBI actually saw one of the people who said that a few years ago. I said, “It’s interesting to see you, I just came from a conference where the theme was ‘doing good is good for business…’” And he’s like, “OK, OK, what do you want?”

DCBHe knew he was wrong and you were right?

TBHe was great about it, but yes. I said, “I want a check for the foundation, actually.” And he did write one.

DCBA happy ending at least.

TBYes, and I still believe that doing good is good for business.

DCBHas that always been the company motto?

TBFrom the beginning. It wasn’t my only unpopular idea; I also launched with e-commerce in 2004, when people told me no one would ever shop online.

DCBThe Oprah moment in 2005, which is now fashion history: You went on that show to be one of “Oprah’s favorite things” and your world changed, right?

TBYes. And if we hadn’t had e-commerce during Oprah, it would have been a very different scenario.

DCBYour website crashed, right?

TBYes. Temporarily! We got it back up, but we had 8 million hits, and that was in 2005.

DCBDo people stop you in the street now with business ideas?

TBYes, I get a lot of pitches. It’s great, there’s nothing better than entrepreneurship.

DCBWhat’s the craziest place you’ve been pitched?

TBThe ladies’ room in a restaurant? On a plane, when you’re sitting next to someone? It can be kind of tricky if they ask at the start of a flight and then you have to sit next to them.

DCBHas that happened?

TBYes! But the time I’m thinking of actually worked out: They wanted a recommendation and I connected them. It’s wonderful to be able to connect people and help them get a leg up in some way. That feels great.

DCBLet’s talk about your beautifully appointed apartment. I love the Walton Ford in your foyer.

TBI got that a long time ago, and I love it. I don’t know him well, but I’ve met Walton.

DCBHe has a quirky, fabulous house in the West Village.

TBWhen we met, we spoke about his place in Maine.

DCBHe’s a character.

TBI knew Paul Kasmin, he introduced me to Walton, and I just loved his work. I was interested in his technique and the way he approached his work. And they always have some kind of twisted story.

DCBThe storytelling behind the works is always fascinating.

TB[In my Ford work] there are two stags, who are extinct or endangered, and the story is that the viewer is a hunter, and he comes across them, and he has his gun. But are they game? You’re asking, is he going to kill them?

DCBWhen you’re collecting—or curating your life, to steal the concept from your parents—how do you approach this art world?

TBIt’s a huge part of how I see the world. But for me, it’s never been about value; it’s about emotion and having this visceral reaction to something. When I look at the art I have, it’s so eclectic—everything from Old Masters to Helen Frankenthaler, René Magritte, Peter Doig, Gertrude Abercrombie, Madeline Hewes, Giacometti, folk art and flea market finds. What I love is when it’s all mixed up. I think there’s some rhyme and reason when you look at it, but there is no rhyme or reason to the way I collect it.

DCBYou prefer the word “aesthete” to “collector.”

TBI don’t think of myself as a “collector,” but I do have a collection of art, antiques, and objects that I love, things I’ve found over many years. As a designer, the way art inspires me is never literal. I was recently looking at some works by Agnes Martin, and I was struck by her restraint. It’s how I approach design—my inspiration comes from all over and in abundance, but it’s all about focus and restraint.

DCBThat tees up my next question: How does art, or what you see at MoMA or the Barnes, or what you have on your walls, affect what you do at the studio?

TBEvery collection has had art and artists on the mood board. It’s about color, texture, and form, but mostly emotion, and then I start the collection. Even in the beginning, my inspiration was David Hicks in Morocco, as well as my parents. In 2014, we published our book Tory Burch: In Color, and the inspiration was Richard Diebenkorn, the Old Masters, Man Ray.

DCBThe same question always comes up in this series: Can art be fashion? Can fashion be art?

TBArt and fashion can be a commentary on the zeitgeist and what’s happening in the moment, but the response is often different. When I’m designing a collection, I’m thinking about longevity—the way art is enduring and can evoke a feeling. Art gives this emotion and power. But art and fashion both need to fit into a period as well. I see it both ways.

DCBI like that idea, that artists and designers are both chasing a feeling, and for you that’s empowered.

TBWhen you’re creating something from scratch, it’s interesting to see other people’s creative processes and how they work. When I was at Rashid’s studio, he talked about how he will feel something, and he wants to get that across on the canvas. I want the same. I want people to have an emotion when they wear our collections, I want them to feel confident. That is a powerful feeling.