It's Tory time

It's Tory time

SOCIAL & LIFESTYLE

Naming watches is easy for American designer Tory Burch, who uses her own name and family members to identify her range of timepieces introduced last year. The Swiss-made watches come in stainless steel cases or this material in a gold tone with several designs for followers of the lifestyle brand.

The launch of the new category marks a decade of Tory Burch, which began as a small boutique in Manhattan's Nolita neighbourhood. Now a global business, the company offers ready-to-wear, shoes, handbags, beauty products and watches.

Notable for their colours, prints and eclectic details, collections are inspired by art, music, travel, interiors and the designer's stylish parents.

Her mother, Reva, lends her name to 60s and 70s-inspired models marked by a double-T logo on the dial and colourful straps, with the golden model matched with an ivory leather strap as one of Oprah's "Favourite Things 2014".

Two vintage-looking timepieces — Buddy Signature and Classic — pay tribute to Tory's father, who designed most of his clothes. Their geometric cases draw inspiration from menswear and architectural elements, with the Buddy Signature presented in textured and smooth rectangular cases with single or double-wrap leather straps while Buddy Classic watches come in polished square cases in gold-tone stainless steel.

Her parents lived in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, where Tory grew up and went to school till completing an art history degree from Penn university. She then headed to New York to pursue a career in the fashion industry, working for influential designers such as Ralph Lauren, Vera Wang and Narciso Rodriguez before establishing her own brand in 2004.

Tory has been recognised as Glamour's Women of the Year, Forbes' Most Powerful Women in the World and Vanity Fair's International Best Dressed List.

Her taste for timepieces is demonstrated in the sporty and tomboy Tory models with bold bracelets; and round 28mm and 37mm cases. The masculine-meets-feminine design reflects her childhood years when she would spend time outdoors playing sports with her brothers.

At her childhood home, a pair of Chinese Chippendale chairs initiated Tory's fascination for fretwork, which is a recurring design motif of the brand. The graphic square-cased Izzie watches feature an inlaid geometric fretwork with the mirrored dial carrying the double-T logo.

The Tory Burch collection is available at Paragon Department Store.

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT