Now Burch says she has the privilege of seeing her come to life all over the globe. San Francisco, Nashville, Rome, Beijing and her new Manhattan flagship are among the places she has set up shop. Soon, she’ll be in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Waikiki, Hawaii.
“I see a lot of it for working moms, but also for women who are younger and older,’’ Burch says. “I love to see how each woman puts her personal spin on it. I love to see how they put it together.’’
Burch described herself during a recent interview as “a shy person’’ — one who is still adjusting to media attention — but she’ll stop someone on the street when she sees her graphic double-T logo. She says she is so flattered that women whom she has come to respect, even if she knows them by type instead of name, choose to spend their money on her collection instead of all the other things they want. Hmmm, maybe family vacations or home improvements, she muses. “It’s very passe to think women want to spend a fortune on clothes.’’
She adds, “Our goal from the beginning was to design the most stylish clothes we could for the least amount of money.’’
This isn’t fast-fashion, however, and definitely not cheap. Burch has found her niche in the contemporary market, with dresses largely in the $300-$500 range and sweaters $200-$350. Her famous flats cost mostly $150-$300.
Burch, 45, staged her first formal runway show last month at New York Fashion Week, attracting all the right retailers and editors. The theme was the seaside French resort of Deauville, which, she says, captures the right mix of polished and sporty. There was a striped sequin cocktail dress, daytime dresses with dropped waists and pleats and knit short suits.
The inspiration came — as always — from her parents and the trips they took. “When I’d look at old photos, everything seemed so optimistic — and chic, and glamorous, and they always looked like they were having fun!’’
Now, with so many seasons under her belt and, she hopes, many more in front of her, she just wishes they had taken even more vacations. (Photos of mother Reva and her late father, Buddy, hang on the walls of the Madison Avenue townhouse shop.)
