Chris Burch

Shopping

The Ex-Mr. Tory Burch Opens Lifestyle Shop C.Wonder, Wants to Get Rid of Women’s ‘Hassles’

Ever since this summer, venture capitalist and co-founder of Tory Burch, the company–and ex-husband of Tory Burch, the person–Chris Burch has been teasing us around town with his very mysterious and somewhat contradictorily self-described affordable-luxury lifestyle brand C. Wonder. The mystery is about to end since the inaugural C. Wonder flagship is finally throwing open its chartreuse colored, C-logo-ed doors to the public this weekend; we dropped by for a a sneak peek led by Mr. Burch and his team on Tuesday morning.

“It’s pretty critical for us that we give luxury and [an] extraordinary environment at a price point that a lot of Americans can afford,” Burch said clad in a pinstriped suit and velvet monogrammed slip-ons (sans socks, naturally).

The brightly-lit, whimsically designed store sells pretty much everything and anything you can think of. There are cable knits, trench coats, striped button downs, rainboots, handbags, costume jewelry, bikes (with bright pink helmets to match), Vespa-like scooters, pillows, picture frames, dishware, clocks, even a freakin’ mini-cupcake maker ($39, if you’re wondering). The price points are, as promised, affordable. While it seemed like everything we picked up was $78–a soft crew-neck sweater, color-block zipped tote, python-embossed ballet flats, and dark-washed boot-cut jeans–the prices ran the gamut from $24 for stackable bangles to $245 (for the bike) and up.

But it’s not just the pretty affordable and ridiculously vast (possibly too vast) inventory that is interesting about the store.

Read more »
  • Fawnia Soo Hoo
  • Thursday, Oct 20, 2011 / 6:00 PM
  • Comments ()
Fashion Careers

Ten Investors Who Take Chances on Smaller Fashion Labels

Another question the Fashionista team is often asked, mostly by design students: “What does it take to launch my own label?”

Well, it takes a lot of hard work, talent, and yes…money.

The big problem: There aren’t a ton of investors willing to put down cash on a new designer. As one serial investor once explained to me, “Fashion is a risky business. But it’s not as sexy as film. Sometimes, people are lured by the glamor, but in general, the return on investment is so unlikely, most aren’t willing to take the risk.” In the movies, on the other hand, investors will still probably get to hang out with the star–even if the film doesn’t make any real bank.

So what’s a young designer to do? Working for a bigger label is always an option. Adam Lippes worked at Polo Ralph Lauren for years before launching his own label. Chris Benz worked at J.Crew. Richard Chai worked at Marc Jacobs and Donna Karan.

Loans from friends and family always help, but we understand that’s not viable for most.

Another way to do it? Get one of the few investors who do spend money on younger brands to notice you. Now, we’re not advocating knocking down these people’s doors. And you’re probably going to have to come up with your own money to establish the company initially. But doing good work and networking should get you closer to your goal. Here are 10 companies/people known for investing in younger brands.

Read more »