Burch has been able to best the competition by eyeing a void (or voids) and owning it completely. “I’ve always been obsessed with the concept of reinvention and evolution, and being at the forefront of technology,” she says. “Evolution has helped us keep up with the macro environment, and also take our customer with us. We are not a designer price point, but we look through a luxury lens. We try to give our customer the best possible quality for the best possible price.”

And where Burch goes, the masses follow. A year after she launched the brand, Oprah Winfrey dubbed the newcomer with no design experience “the next big thing in fashion.” (A fashion executive turned stay-at-home mom, Burch had spent nearly four years “coming up with idea after idea of what I could do to start a business.”) Seemingly overnight her refined-prep aesthetic—an homage to her mom and a feminist take on the randy, rugby-inspired fast fashion of the era—became the new normal. “Tory appeared as if she came out of nowhere with her label that put women at the center of everything,” says Condé Nast global content adviser and Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour. “I think what Tory understands is that as you get bigger and bigger, the scale of the conversation shouldn’t change. You need to keep the sense of personal connection. And she has.”

As Burch grew the business, she also weathered her fair share of personal and professional setbacks, including a public divorce from investor Chris Burch in 2006. (The two have continued to coparent their three sons and his three daughters from a previous relationship, two of whom currently work at Tory Burch.) Then, in 2008, economic decline all but toppled traditional brick-and-mortar business models. “Our business had been on such a fast trajectory, and overnight it changed,” she says. Burch stayed nimble, leaning into e-commerce and accessory sales in lieu of outlet stores and quick-return licensing deals. She also leaned into her own temperament. “When things get frenetic, I get more focused,” she says. “And I get that from my dad. I take a step back, and I would say I’m very calm. People often check to see if I have a pulse.” She’s joking, but it’s something to consider. For Burch, one of the few women in the highest echelon of business, being inscrutable isn’t an edge—it’s a necessity. “I don’t want to act on emotion,” she says. “The word restraint is something that I always think about. And patience. We’re a patient brand. I’ve never necessarily wanted to be the biggest company. I wanted to be, obviously, the most profitable—but also the most inspiring place to work.”

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