The Tory Principle
Celebrating the Designer's New Store
Everybody wants to say hi to Tory Burch. In fact, it’s probably one reason the designer switched to the runway format this year. "It was the next evolution for us, and it was easier for me. I'm a more behind-the-scenes type of person," Burch explained last night at her new store on Madison. She was hosting an opening party there, despite the fact that customers have been coming in since last week. The next two additions to Burch's expanding empire are in Beirut and Dubai, and she may not be able to host anything there right away, either. "But I'll get there eventually,” she vowed.
It's been a busy year for Burch, and yesterday might have been the busiest day in it. Her show was at 9 in the morning; 12 hours later, she was entertaining the likes of Serena Williams and Lucy Liu on the VIP floor of the new global flagship—a nineteenth-century town house that's been transformed, with Imari vases, gilt bronze chandeliers, and purple hydrangeas, into a very smart 8,000-plus square feet in which to do some shopping.
Or, on this occasion, some quality celebrity-spotting. A pregnant Beyoncé walked five flights up to pay her respects; with her was Jay-Z, a Tom Ford jacket draped oh-so-casually over his shoulder. English actress Alice Eve took the power couple's arrival as her cue to sit down and explain her presence. "I'm an uptown girl. I've finally come to that conclusion, at the ripe old age of 29," she said. What is it about Burch that appeals to pop royalty and twentysomething uptown girls? "She has this beautiful sophistication, but there's also something very tangible about her," Amber Valletta offered. Around 11, with Valletta and most everyone else long gone, the designer was down on the first floor, dancing with boyfriend Lyor Cohen to "You Sexy Thing." By the time she left, moments later, Burch had said hi or bye to just about everyone.
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