tory burch is reclaiming her relevance

Kat Rally

A beautiful New York building’s image is projected onto the enormous sheet in a bustling darkened room full of fashion's finest. We see people like Ruby Lyn and Salem Mitchell chatting in front, along with Maddie Ziegler, Ashley Graham, and the one and only Vogue icon, Anna Wintour.

The lights dim and the curtain begins to rise, the image projected remains but a staircase going down appears. The first model emerges up the stairs and the show starts as we’d expect a Tory Burch show to begin, stereotypical feminine business attire. Before I could scribble down my immediate thoughts of indifference, I was taken aback by the next looks that were appearing. The details and nuances on business casual attire in this Fall/Winter 2023 Ready-to-Wear collection set a new tone for Burch’s brand.

Burch has long been seen as designing clothes with a borderline cheugy and middle aged mom aesthetic. However, this collection is pushing the narrative that her clothes are basic and catered to only business women. Burch is reclaiming her relevance as a high-end designer.

Founded in New York City in 2004, Tory Burch started her brand to empower all women. Whether business women, entrepreneurs, teachers, or stay at home moms, she wants her clothes to be a source of inspiration and confidence. In 2009, Burch started the Tory Burch Foundation to offer capital, resources, and education to “tackle stereotypes that hold women back.”

Recently, Burch has become more experimental in her approach to feminine business attire. The show was notable for its oversized safety pins, unfinished collars, and fishnet stockings. These small touches take each look from basic to bold. Burch’s previous collections have contained some great pieces, but consistently have the overwhelmingly vibrant and bizarre color combinations and patterns we all associate with Burch. In this new and improved collection, Burch still uses the bold colors she loves so much, but is now intentional with them.

The fishnets beneath the feminine, business casual outfits add a level of promiscuity and confidence. The sexiness of having the stockings beneath each look emphasizes how Burch is trying to empower business women. Fishnet has long been associated with lustrous behaviors and have not been the stockings of a business woman, but I love Burch’s inclusion of them in this show. It’s a powerful and unexpected move, offering freedom beyond the limits of traditional femininity. I am pleasantly surprised.

The use of different textures and materials was a theme throughout the show. I especially love her use of satin, lace, and mesh. The form fitting corset and maxi skirt is more youthful and innocent. Burch goes beyond the bounds of the simplistic and typical business woman attire through these ultra feminine looks. The littlest details of the flowers on the chests add the vibrant color Burch so dearly loves. Emily Ratajkowski, one of the biggest supermodels in the world, closed the show in this corset pencil skirt combo. Who would’ve thought that a corset could be classy? I never did, but Tory Burch has proven me wrong.

Pushing boundaries and experimenting with the limits of acceptable business attire is another focus throughout the collection. Satin trousers, criss-crossed belts barely holding together, and relaxed button ups are essentials to this collection. These belts add a level of distressed chic to the typical dressy top and trouser look – it’s subtle, but something that caught my attention.

In contrast, the ultra shiny satin is tacky and pretty off putting; these look like Zara meets Banana Republic. Used in both the trouser and dress top or in the long sleeve dresses, there is almost a cheapness to the fabric. Burch dropped the ball on these looks, the fabric combinations are not it. This satin material was a mistake and detracts from the elegance and sexiness we see in other looks.

The bags throughout the collection offer the individuality and daringness Burch wants to emphasize. The strategic intention to keep these bags unclasped is reflective of Burch’s growing desire to push the boundaries of what it means to be a powerful woman. The casualness of the unclasped bags contradict the perfect, cookie cutter, put together business woman that we’ve accepted and believed was the image. A business woman is defined by her confidence and efforts, not her perfectly clasped purses or polished clean cut lines and tailored edges, and Burch agrees. Burch is establishing her dedication to authenticity and realness that tussles with the acceptable attire that is forced onto women’s fashion, especially fashion for working women. The bags are hanging open and demonstrating Burch’s move to designing for the effortless, classy, cool-girl business woman.

The array of textures in the bags of this collection are a highlight. I especially love this cowhide bag with the red button detailing. It’s a funky version of the typical Tory Burch bags commonly seen but with a daring elegance. The same goes for the vibrant turquoise and deep purple leather purses. Simple, but something more than just the basic colors and textures. I like how she is using the bags as vibrant pops of color, not the clothes. It’s sophisticated and interesting.

But, umm the blue bag! It’s my current obsession right now. It’s youthful and fun, not what I envisioned this show including. I expected the vibrant colors, but the stitching and beading is such a fun twist. The 90s inspired double sided zippered doctor bag is an essential asset to this collection and I wanna get my hands on one.

Layering upon layering. The sweater over the loosely buttoned business top is edgy and effortless. The oversized, wide v-neck sweaters with bunched up sleeves gives the perfect hybrid of playful and classy.

Burch took a suit and made it majestic. The corduroy sparkly black pant-suit might be my favorite look of the collection. It comes in as look number four and it sets the tone for the rest of the collection. Its baggy, single buttoned, shoulder padded shape is so posh. I love this look for it’s feminine assertiveness. We see the barely holding together belt make an appearance and I am here for it.

Lastly, the three quarters of the way collar takes the common coat to next level fashion. The mix of fur and wool is a typical pairing, however, the asymmetrical three quarters of the way collars are sophisticated and chic. The shaggy and rigid cut of the mid length jean skirts partnered with the overcoats is edgy and fun. The denim paired with the coat is fashionable and daring for Burch, I love this new side of her.

To be honest, Tory Burch has always screamed Nordstrom Rack and middle aged mom to me. Although, I will say I was pretty surprised by how much I enjoyed this collection. Previously, I thought that her collections and designs have missed the mark and did not reach couture level status, but this Fall 2023 Ready-to-Wear collection has pleasantly surprised me. I am excited to see future collections. Tory has become more relevant in these more recent years and this collection is an example of her growth as a designer. I hope she’s finally ditched the cheugy vibrant sandals and sticks to these tasteful nuances. The details and pieces as a whole are demonstrating her growing confidence and fearlessness as a designer.