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In a lively Saturday morning conversation at the Vogue Caf\u00e9 in SoHo, designer and founder Tory Burch sat down with Nicole Phelps for a live recording of The Run-Through<\/em>, touching on everything from Met Gala prep to the personal philosophy that built her empire.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you look at a painting or a sculpture, it\u2019s how it makes you feel,\u201d Burch said. \u201cEvery collection I\u2019ve ever done references some kind of painting or color or period of art.”<\/p>\n Burch shared stories of her extraordinary rise from a single storefront on Elizabeth Street in Nolita (chosen, she explained with a laugh, because \u201cthe rent was cheap\u201d) to 400 stores worldwide. She also spoke candidly about navigating a very public divorce, the 2008 financial crisis, and the devastating toll of the pandemic, including losing a longtime colleague to COVID. Through all of it, she leaned on transparency as her guiding principle. \u201cWhat people need is just honesty,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Burch also spoke about the Tory Burch Foundation, which she launched in 2009 to support women entrepreneurs with mentorship, community, and access to capital\u2014a mission she said was central to starting her company in the first place. The foundation\u2019s borrowers, she said, repay their loans at a 98% rate: proof that \u201cwomen are a great investment.\u201d<\/p>\n For young people hoping to break into fashion, she borrowed advice she got from her parents: \u201cNegativity is noise. Thicken your skin.\u201d And above all, she urged, believe in the power you already have. \u201cWomen have the power,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re not bestowing power upon anyone. You all have it within you.\u201d<\/p>\n Plus: Anok Yai is British Vogue<\/em>\u2019s cover star<\/a>!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n