Tory Burch: Beauty Rests on Utility

Spring/Summer 2021

One of the most influential fashion designers today, Tory Burch chose Hancock Shaker Village as the setting for her virtual Spring/Summer 2021 presentation in October 2020, finding inspiration in the museum’s buildings and artifacts. With Beauty Rests on Utility, a Shaker maxim that reflects her mindset while designing during the pandemic, Burch curates here a very personal show, revealing the impact of Shaker design on her work.

Throughout the challenges of 2020, Burch and her design team used their imagination to find new ways to connect — and emerged with a renewed interest in restraint, simplicity and creativity. Her Spring/Summer 2021 collection is inspired by memories and purposeful craftsmanship — classrooms at her Quaker elementary school, baskets that hung at her family’s farm, handmade quilts she found in Pennsylvania Dutch country. Burch grew up outside of Philadelphia, and many of her influences can be traced back to her roots in Pennsylvania and its artisanal, cultural and historic legacy.

Intrigued by the Shakers’ innovation and efficiency — and the fact that the simplest domestic items can exalt the spirit — Burch chooses some of her favorite Shaker objects alongside pieces from her fashion and home collections, creating an interplay between colors, clean lines and craft. Shaker brooms and baskets are juxtaposed with hand-woven handbags and loafers. The simple elegance of a handmade wooden chair is reflected in thoughtful proportions and materials — fabric informs the drape of an unstructured coat, and a collapsible leather tote expands and contracts in soft leather. The salmon, marigold and white façades of Hancock’s buildings and the bright colors of a Shaker box can be seen in accents of joyful color.

Shaker values of equality, integrity and intention resonate deeply with Burch. Everything in the collection was designed with purpose and an emphasis on timelessness and utility, which feels like what people may be seeking in a world compressed by seismic cultural changes.

Tory Burch (b. 1966) is the Executive Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of Tory Burch LLC, an American lifestyle brand that started as a boutique in 2004 and has since grown into a global business with boutiques in New York, Paris, Shanghai and elsewhere. In 2009, Burch launched the Tory Burch Foundation as well as a Fellowship program to advance women’s empowerment and entrepreneurship in the U.S. by providing access to capital, education and digital resources. This is her first museum exhibition.

Beauty Rests on Utility is made possible with support from Chrystina and James Parks and ROAM: A Xtina Parks Gallery.