Tory Burch on opening her new store in Mumbai

“Even if I’m not in India, I’m in India in my mind,” laughs American designer Tory Burch when we met in Singapore last week. We are seated in a suite at the heritage hotel Raffles Singapore, as she is set to launch her T Monogram pop-up shop — dedicated to the classic pattern inspired by traditional Dutch Pennsylvanian quilting technique that Tory grew up seeing around her — in the island country. It’s been a decade since she was in Singapore, and even longer since her last trip to India.

Tory reminisces about her visit 13 years ago, when she spent six weeks travelling across Mumbai, Delhi, Jaipur, and Udaipur during the monsoons. “I love India, it’s just so incredibly beautiful,” she says. Her first trip to the country, however, was during her study-abroad programme, Semester at Sea, when she recalls going to Kolkata, “and spent many hours in line to meet Mother Teresa”.

Tory Burch (left) with actor Qin Lan

Another jaunt to India may be long overdue for Tory, but the country’s crafts have made their way into her recent Spring-Summer 2023 collection (available at the Tory Burch boutique, DLF Emporio New Delhi and online), which features dresses in luxurious Indian silks and tunics with delicate embroidery and sequins. Mirror work is a big focus of the clothes, which has been hand-done in collaboration with Noida-based Indian garment manufacturer — and a long-time collaborator of the brand — Orange International. Tory herself was dressed in a buttercup yellow and icy blue dress with the aforementioned mirrorwork for the welcome dinner, the evening before we spoke. “Highlighting different cultures and working directly with them is something I’ve always been interested in. There is nowhere in the world that does embroideries and embellishments in a more beautiful way than I have found in India,” she adds. It reminds one of the time in 2011 when Indian-American producer, actor, director, and screenwriter Mindy Kaling famously tweeted at the designer saying, “I love you, Tory Burch, you closeted bling-loving Indian woman you.”  

Travel tales

The designer’s love for different cultures comes from her affinity for travel, something her eponymous brand’s DNA is built upon. Borrowing from her parents’ vacations as well as her own sojourns around the world, she created a unique aesthetic, often described as ‘haute hippie’, when she launched her luxury lifestyle brand in 2004 from her New York apartment. Think old-money elegance meets eclecticism. Preppy but also bohemian. Aspirational but just as accessible. Tory attests that is because she has been inspired by women far and wide. “Women globally are what inspire me. While I’ve always been proud to be an American brand, we’re not that American-centric. I look at women everywhere, be it in India, Vietnam, Africa, Morocco, or China. I also love meeting people who show me all kinds of new worlds,” she admits.

Tory reveals that their bestsellers around the world mirror each other. Her cult accessories — the Reva ballet flats, named after her mother, and the handbags with the well-recognised logo on them — have been a rage among Indians long before the brand even opened doors here. Snagging one (or often many, in all available colours) on an overseas trip was a flex that always gave fashion-lovers bragging rights. What has made them so universally appealing? “The fact that I’ve looked for inspiration around the world. Combined with the fact that I personally love accessories, and have always been a handbag and footwear person.”

Building your own empire? Tory Burch, known to be one of the youngest self-made female billionaires in America, shares a crash course:

• Challenge your ideas and take them apart. Be the editor of your own work.
•  The smartest people are the ones who know what they don’t know. So, find mentors and work with the right people.  
•  Be intellectually curious. Take in feedback but make your own decisions.
•  Be a good listener. You never learn anything with your mouth open.
• Thicken your skin. There will always be naysayers.
• A business will have new issues and problems every day. It’s important to have grace even under pressure.