"As I go, I want to evolve," said Tory Burch, speaking on the phone from her office yesterday morning before dashing off to see Vera Wang's show. "I think this collection is more of a departure," she added after a beat. "But I also don't want to walk away from a great business." For the designer and her ever-growing team, that's the essence of the task ahead: how to move forward and keep increasing the high-fashion element that Burch—an avid watcher, wearer, and consumer of the stuff—loves while satisfying the Reva flat-buying traditionalists who've been flocking to this brand since day one.
All in all, Burch's Fall collection, which built on a direction she's been heading in since last Spring, offered a convincing answer. The clothes were styled for extreme eclecticism, mixing uptown-downtown, day-evening, classic-trendy, feminine-masculine. Think Teen Vogue editor. But within those fun and youthful looks was something for a canyon-wide range of aesthetics and ages to appreciate, whether it be a perfect brown oilcloth anorak, a chic feathered tunic, a smart little tweed suit, or one of the terrific luxe handbags.
Not every piece earned its place here. A splashy printed dress with beaded sleeves, for one, could have stayed back at the showroom. Ironically, one of the ways for this collection to evolve may be to do a tighter edit before the presentation. But that's a quibble. More to the point, this is one of the few fashion brands that can actually offer good news—including a plan to open 100 stores in the next five years—and today Burch and company showed why more sunny days lie ahead.
