Tory Burch talks business and social responsibility
Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal talks to fashion designer Tory Burch about her new coffee table book, “Tory Burch: In Color,” her clothing line and her foundation devoted to helping female entrepreneurs.
On the success of her line:
I think we hit a place in the market that there was a need. It was a pretty simple idea. It was designing beautiful clothing that didn’t cost a fortune. It was something that I was personally missing, and then we found out it was a wide space in the market…. We’re never patting ourselves on the back. We’re always looking forward and evolving and thinking of what we could be doing next.
Burch with her mother, Reva.
On social responsibility and her foundation:
I was told never to talk about business and social responsibility in the same sentence, and I went the opposite of that.
The [Tory Burch] Foundation has always been a part of the conversation and the storytelling and the idea. When we were finally able to launch the foundation, it has turned out to be so extraordinary for the company.
Any millennials we interview, it’s such an important part of the interview process. They want to be working somewhere where they’re making a difference.
Burch with her son Sawyer in the Bahamas.
On the importance of having women in business:
I think women are part of the answer to the economy, and we have to bring men and boys along for the conversation.
Women are great entrepreneurs. They’re great business minds.
Burch with her three boys at Machu Picchu.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misstated the title of Burch’s new book. The book is titled “Tory Burch: In Color.”
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