• Photographed by Jennifer Livingston
  • Photographed by Jennifer Livingston

Relive Tory’s show day, from sunrise to sunset.

5 AM
Alarm. But as always, I have been awake for a while. I grab a bowl of yogurt and granola and a small cup of coffee. No one else is up yet. The twins are home from college, and mom stayed over last night. It’s nice having a full house again.
5:15 AM
Tara and Berta arrive for hair and makeup. I review show notes and the list of editors and buyers coming backstage. One last look at the seating chart — it’s like Tetris.
6:15 AM
Photographer Jennifer Livingston is waiting in her usual spot as we leave home to get our traditional “morning of the show” shot. I love her work — she captures the energy and pace of Fashion Week. She’s been with us since before we started doing a runway show! Photographers have it tough. They do everything we do, except while often walking backward, lugging pounds of camera equipment around.

6:45 AM
On our way to the Whitney Museum of American Art. This is a record — the earliest we’ve ever left. The best part? Catching the sunrise over the Hudson.
7:00 AM
Second breakfast — a whole grain mini muffin and a few sips of Diet Coke. And I’m ready to start pre-show interviews and run-throughs. This season, it’s about returning to my Philadelphia roots, the classic style of Katharine Hepburn and, of course, my parents Buddy and Reva.
8:15 AM
The rehearsal. This is my favorite part of the day. It’s just our team listening to the music and watching the models do a full run-through. I am obsessed with this season’s soundtrack…The xx and Roxy Music. So many good memories tied to listening to Bryan Ferry…
9:20 AM
Nian Fish sends our first model out with her eternally positive, funny, energizing words. She’s the ultimate model whisperer.
10:00 AM
Post-show and -interviews, I’m now filming a PSA with my boys. This is the most important thing I’ll do today. All throughout March, Women’s History Month, we at the Tory Burch Foundation will be talking about women embracing ambition. It’s a global campaign kicking off on March 8th, International Women’s Day. We celebrate ambition in women, and we’ll be spreading the message across toryburch.com, toryburchfoundation.org and all across social.
11:00 AM
Meeting the entire Burch-Robinson crew at The Standard Grill for a celebratory coffee.
12:00 PM
Lunch with the design team at Indochine. We couldn’t do it without our stylist Tabitha Simmons and the best beauty team — Diane Kendal, Guido Palau and Kim D’Amato.
2:15 PM
A few hours of interviews with international press.
5:00 PM
Any designer will tell you work doesn’t stop after the last model walks off the runway. It’s just getting started. Meetings with our merchandising and buying teams to review the collection.
6:30 PM
Finally headed home to see the boys before a special Valentine’s Day dinner later tonight.



Explore more features from Fashion Week Issues, past and present.

More to explore in Style