0:00

As if the Macrispy couldn't get any

0:02

better, bacon and ranch

0:05

just entered the chat.

0:07

The bacon ranch Macrispy. Available

0:09

at participating in Bdonald's for a limited

0:11

time. Camp

0:17

side media. From

0:23

campsite media and Sony Music Entertainment,

0:26

this is Infamous, and I'm Vanessa Gregory

0:28

Audis.

0:29

I'm Gabe Sherman, and this is part two of

0:31

a three part series retail revenge.

0:37

Where did we leave off in the story last time?

0:39

So Chris Birch thought that Tory was cute as

0:41

a button and they got married. They had

0:43

a few kids together but after some

0:45

years their marriage started to sour.

0:47

So then what the hell happened? So

0:49

have you ever heard the one about the flower

0:51

and the gardener? Might sound like

0:53

a British period movie with Helen Miran,

0:56

but it's actually a theory about relationships.

0:59

According to this theory, in every relationship,

1:02

one person is a flower and one

1:04

person is the gardener. That

1:06

means one person's a caretaker who's

1:08

carefully tending to the flower's needs.

1:11

And the other person is just a beautiful

1:13

rose that's blooming, just the

1:15

eye catching center of attention. It's

1:18

actually quite true when you start looking at

1:20

it. And it means that in terms

1:22

of presentory birch, there was obviously

1:24

a problem because they both

1:27

2 to be flowers. She's this

1:29

cool girl who everybody wants to be like.

1:32

And then Chris is brash and buckineering.

1:34

He's like a bright yellow snapdragon.

1:38

These two flowers are very different. They

1:41

have very different needs, and they behave

1:43

differently. And that proved

1:45

to be true of Tory and

1:46

Chris. When I began my reporting.

1:50

Troy Birchenough is, like, one of the, like,

1:52

unknowable characters of

1:55

New York

1:55

City. That's Jessica Pressler. She wrote

1:57

a big piece about the purchase for New York Magazine.

2:00

But you might be more familiar with her Hollywood

2:02

stories. If you saw the j

2:04

lo movie hustlers, or the Anna Delvey

2:07

series inventing Anna on Netflix,

2:10

you know something about Jessica Pressler because

2:12

her articles inspired both of them.

2:14

Man,

2:16

I just had some questions. I

2:18

have a question. What's

2:20

he wearing? You look Paul.

2:24

I'm dressed Capressler, and I wrote

2:26

a story about Cory Burch and her

2:28

ex husband, Chris Burch.

2:30

So, Jessica set out to report

2:32

on the Burch's. So I didn't

2:34

speak to Tory or

2:37

or I didn't participate in the in

2:39

the story. But the MSRs were

2:41

sent from the lead. They're tory birds.

2:45

I love this sweater. It's a new shape for

2:47

us. If you can layer it, what a fun way to just

2:49

tie in a whole outfit quickly.

2:51

She's like a perfectly put together outfit.

2:54

Right? She was just this like kind of

2:56

glossy, like, a lacquered human

2:58

being, and he was kind of just

3:00

like linus with like link trailing off

3:02

of him a little bit. He he's kind of like

3:04

a little bit absent minded, I think. Or maybe it was

3:06

that he was wearing his shoes on the wrong

3:08

feet. There's something about Tory Burch

3:10

that's so frustrating in the way that

3:12

Meghan Markle is frustrating where it's

3:14

like every single statement

3:17

is turned to be

3:19

the exact perfect messaging

3:22

machine. But if Tory is

3:24

like Meghan Markle, does that mean that

3:26

Chris is sort of Prince Harry?

3:29

I don't even know if the guy drinks, but there's

3:31

just something a little last guy

3:34

at the bar about him, a little

3:36

Jimmy Buffet. Here's Michael

3:38

Shneurson again who wrote about Tory for

3:40

Vanity Fair. When he sat down,

3:42

he would talk to you about

3:46

sort of personal things.

3:48

It was that phrase TMI, you know, too

3:50

much information. In other words,

3:52

while Tory was cool, polished, and

3:54

always put together, Chris was

3:57

unrefined.

3:58

The universal truth is very

4:00

few products are meant for men. Don't

4:02

waste your time.

4:04

Most products are meant for women because they

4:06

want to be noticed and they want to be told they're

4:08

pretty. Women just

4:10

want to be told they're pretty. I mean,

4:12

this is not something Tory would ever say,

4:15

at least not out loud. Now,

4:18

we don't know a ton of the details of

4:20

their divorce, straight from the horse's mouth,

4:23

but there's something in here

4:25

about the way they were so different that

4:27

is the real problem. More

4:31

after the break.

4:38

Price line presents go to your

4:40

happy price. What's

4:42

up? It's Hailey Cuomo. When it

4:44

comes to travel, we all have a happy place.

4:46

You can see yourself already there.

4:48

It's beautiful. It might be sunny and

4:50

sandy for some, neon and urban

4:53

for others, deserts or rainforest or

4:55

hiking trails. With buy sign,

4:57

you can get to your happy place or a happy

4:59

price with deals you really can't find

5:01

anywhere else. Like up to sixty percent

5:04

off select hotels 2 Costa Rica

5:06

or five star hotels for two star prices

5:08

in cabo. Go to priceline dot

5:10

com and travel to your happy place

5:12

for a happy price. Alright. CF,

5:15

I'm off Miami. No. Actually,

5:17

wow. Look at that. No. I I'm going to Hawaii now.

5:20

Oh, Cancun looks nice. You know

5:22

what? Belize looks pretty nice

5:24

this time of the year or Palm

5:26

Springs. Don't do y'all happy

5:29

days. Happy Buzz.

5:32

Go to your happy prize. Priceline.

5:36

Bedtime is rough. Even

5:38

for peanut, That's why people will try

5:40

anything to fall asleep. Head stands

5:42

before bed, even blowing bubbles.

5:45

Bud actually has a trick that works every

5:47

time. A new Tempur Pedic mattress.

5:50

It adapts to your body's needs to help you fall

5:52

asleep faster and stay asleep longer.

5:55

You'll wake up feeling refreshed every

5:57

day. Even peanut degrees,

5:59

so ditched the wacky bedtime rituals,

6:01

head to Ashley to take home a tempur Pedic

6:04

today.

6:08

You're listening to Inference from campsite

6:10

media. Whoever they

6:12

really were under the surface it just

6:14

seems like Chris and Tory had different values,

6:17

especially when it came to the company. The

6:20

fashion label was about accessible, luxury.

6:23

Tory wanted to put the emphasis on the

6:25

luxury part. But it seems like

6:27

Chris didn't really care about luxury

6:30

or even quality, fashion. And

6:33

remember, they're not just x's.

6:36

They're tied together as business

6:38

partners. They're like, Symi's

6:41

twins. So in

6:43

two thousand and six professionally, Tory

6:46

is having a fantastic year

6:50

Part at work, getting ready

6:52

for her high profile runway show

6:54

during New York's upcoming fashion week.

6:57

Her clothes are flying off the shelves. She's

6:59

still a social darling. She's making those

7:01

regular appearances at New York Society

7:03

Galas. But Behind

7:06

the velvet curtains, she and

7:08

Chris are bumping heads, and there's

7:10

meeting at Tory Burch's offices in

7:12

Manhattan. From what

7:14

I read, Chris is in a conference room with

7:16

a bunch of Tory Burchacks, and Tory

7:18

herself could be perhaps sitting

7:20

at the head of the table. She's

7:22

got that aquiline profile, her

7:25

prim smile. Perhaps

7:27

she has her honey blonde hair tucked

7:29

behind an ear. Her

7:31

hand arms folded across

7:34

her chest. Maybe

7:36

chris' blue eyes are twinkling.

7:39

He's got a treat to show everyone

7:41

in this office. So he

7:43

pulls out a shoe and it looks exactly

7:46

like the best selling riva belly

7:49

flat. It has that slim

7:51

sole, the round toe, the

7:54

big a silver dollar logo on the top.

7:57

But as Tory looks closer, perhaps

7:59

she realizes something. It's

8:03

cheap. And there's

8:05

Chris talking up the shoe in

8:07

his blustering way, but

8:09

this shoe isn't leather.

8:12

It's plastic. No

8:15

wonder it was so much cheaper. The

8:18

Tory Burch team may be

8:20

Indignite. This brand

8:22

stands for affordable luxury but

8:25

they put equal emphasis on both

8:27

words. Tory Burch is

8:29

not gonna sell cheap plastic shoes.

8:32

If there's product out there with my name on it,

8:34

it's me. So I want it to be good.

8:36

We're very different. 2 different.

8:39

The marriage can't last. She's

8:41

filing for divorce. Chris

8:43

should now step

8:44

aside. It doesn't give you the right

8:46

to pin wrong 2 the rest of your life.

8:48

Tory is not happy.

8:51

Oh, it was incredibly hard. We have

8:53

six children together that we love.

8:55

And then of course going through it publicly is

8:58

not fun.

8:59

Now wasps like to be private.

9:01

They only want to be in the paper when they're

9:03

born, when their marriage is announced,

9:06

and when they die. So

9:08

the public attention around the divorce

9:11

is devastating for Tory. Tory

9:13

and Chris do not speak for months.

9:16

She stays at the Pierre Hotel he

9:18

moves to another Ritzy upper

9:21

east side hotel called the Carlisle. But

9:23

then, Chris has a health scare. That

9:26

leaves him with partial use of an arm

9:28

for

9:28

months. And gradually, the

9:31

two start to talk on the phone together.

9:34

We have six kids that we love, and at

9:36

the end of the day, that's what we both think about.

9:38

They also keep things civil, obviously,

9:41

for the sake of the family business. Crystal

9:44

has a twenty eight percent stake

9:46

in Tory Burch and a seat

9:49

on the board. Tory doesn't have

9:51

the cash to buy out this very large

9:53

steak, and Chris doesn't

9:55

want to

9:56

eat.

9:56

In any business, one plus one

9:58

equals a hundred. In two thousand

10:00

and eight, Chris signs a management

10:03

deal with Tory Burch that pays him

10:05

a couple million dollars a year.

10:07

And as part of that deal, he says

10:10

he consults on branding and

10:12

sourcing.

10:13

I went to the factories on an ongoing basis.

10:15

I I ran look, I ran the business

10:18

first, a long time. Wow.

10:21

Chris flies repeatedly to Asia

10:23

to meet with suppliers or at least

10:25

says he does.

10:27

So I because because, look, you gotta

10:29

understand. Troy did not come out of the business background.

10:31

Well, he came out of a a market --

10:33

Yeah. -- buy a store. We can come out

10:35

of the business background. She's attained

10:37

as a skills

10:38

Mhmm. --

10:39

I'm older and more experienced. Gah,

10:42

she definitely attained some skills. Because

10:45

she even survives the two thousand

10:47

and eight financial crisis and the

10:49

brand just keeps growing.

10:52

The line is so popular that Tori

10:54

even makes a cameo on the prep bible

10:56

of the

10:56

time, gossip girl. Thank

10:59

you so much for seeing me on short notice.

11:01

He came highly recommended by Anna Winter.

11:03

I was happy to make the

11:04

time. Tory Burch had made

11:06

it. But things were about to

11:08

take a turn. That's after

11:11

the break.

11:13

The legend of doctor Ronald Dante

11:15

spends decades movie stars,

11:18

fugitive

11:18

yachts, continents, if

11:21

you believe his version of events.

11:23

He is Ronald Pella, a legendary

11:25

gunman. No one but Ron

11:27

could pull that off. From campsite

11:29

media and Sony Music entered attainment,

11:31

chameleon season five doctor

11:34

Dante is available

11:35

now. Subscribe on Apple podcasts

11:38

to bend all episodes or listen

11:40

weekly wherever you get your podcasts.

11:44

Why is it that American children are ten times

11:46

more likely to develop peanut allergies

11:48

than Israeli children? And why do nearly

11:50

sixty percent of adults take dietary

11:53

supplements when there's limited research on their

11:55

effectiveness? If you're curious

11:57

about nutrition and the human body like

11:59

I am, join me for Pearson's new

12:01

podcast, body unboxed. I'm

12:03

Anna Hato Connor, and I'm a health and wellness

12:05

columnist. Listen and follow

12:07

body unboxed on Apple Podcasts

12:10

or wherever you get your podcast.

12:16

This is infamous from campsite

12:18

media. So let's skip

12:20

forward a bit. It's two thousand and nine.

12:23

The ink has dried on the divorce papers,

12:25

and even though he's only a consultant,

12:27

Crystal thinks he has a silver bullet

12:30

for Tories. Worldwide domination.

12:34

What is that silver bullet? It's

12:38

China. It's cheap stuff. That's

12:41

what worked for Chris' sweater company,

12:44

those cheap sweaters from Asia that

12:46

he turned profit on quickly. And

12:48

actually, when I went to visit Chris in

12:50

Southampton, I remember him

12:52

pointing out that all the nice waspy

12:54

furniture he had in there, like the good

12:56

looking dressers and impressive

12:58

mantle pieces and strike to

13:00

this or that. It was all made

13:02

in China. That's what he said. It

13:05

wasn't from a Rockefeller State

13:07

sale, he had just made it

13:09

in China, had it shipped over.

13:12

Anyway, Chris doesn't understand why Tory

13:15

doesn't wanna make a lower priced

13:17

brand in China of

13:19

her own stuff. This

13:21

is where the money is. She's leaving

13:23

so much cash on the table. It

13:25

seems like it's just deeply annoying to

13:28

him. What I want and what Tory

13:30

ones has to come together. And in

13:32

April 2 thousand and nine, in an email

13:34

to top execs, Chris writes the Corey

13:36

Burch needs to offer items at lower price

13:38

points, and it needs to become a

13:40

mass market brand. He even brings

13:42

up the idea of launching a cheaper line at

13:45

board meetings. Which is sort of

13:47

inappropriate corporate etiquette. But

13:50

like the plastic riva flat he made,

13:52

Tory Birchen her management team brush

13:54

him off. And that's when

13:56

Chris has a light bulb moment. It's

13:59

time for him to go. If

14:01

he can't do a cheaper version of

14:03

Tory Burch, at Torrey Burch.

14:06

Perhaps he's gonna do it

14:08

on his own. It's full of

14:10

color. It's gorgeous curve radius. Look

14:12

how gorgeous you look. Right. In two

14:15

thousand and twelve, Chris launches his

14:17

own clothing and home goods store, the

14:20

name of his

14:20

boutique, sea wonder.

14:23

And Jessica Pressler is there for

14:25

the launch.

14:26

In my mind, he was wearing like a smoking

14:29

jacket, but really it was probably just

14:31

like blazer or something like that.

14:33

So launch Knowles, Beyonce's sister

14:35

is spinning on the decks and Chris gives her

14:37

a grand tour. There's a black and

14:39

gold lacquer table that has red and

14:41

orange leather handbags. There's

14:43

a geometric green carpet covering

14:45

the floor. In another corner,

14:48

she sees an every round table

14:50

laid in with pillar

14:51

candles, blue glassware. Yes.

14:54

So you wonder it was kind of like

14:57

Wasp, emporium of

14:59

delight. They

15:02

had, you know, the sweater

15:04

sets and the brightly colored clothing,

15:07

the heart shaped waffle maker, the

15:09

phone charging station that was shaped like

15:11

a pig. There

15:13

were all these kind of delightful things

15:16

that a certain person might find delightful around

15:18

the store. They're a lot of products. Almost

15:21

immediately, Jessica Pressler

15:23

noticed something. Well,

15:25

the Sea Wonder logo looked a lot

15:27

like the Tory version logo except that

15:29

it wasn't c. And it

15:33

did that. So Tory Burch, I was you

15:36

know, she has these two signature colors that

15:38

kind of orange, which you call it

15:40

marmalade and and this

15:42

lime color green, which which

15:45

they call Peridot for dual.

15:48

The Tory Burch logo was marmeade and

15:50

the Sea Wonder logo was a

15:52

Peridot with that lime green

15:54

color. As with Tory Burch, the

15:56

sea wonder logo was everywhere.

16:00

It was on shoe buckles. It

16:02

was on buttons. It was on leather

16:04

clogs, but people were noticing

16:06

this. Here's CBS this morning

16:08

with Gail King.

16:09

Christopher Burch, welcome. Alright. And it's good

16:11

to have you here.

16:12

Listen, you know, people could say when they look

16:14

at the sea wonder Brent looks like he's ripping off

16:17

Tory purge 2 that you

16:19

say?

16:21

Yes. The same ex husband

16:23

who helped her start Tory Burch now

16:26

appeared to be selling clothes that were a

16:28

carbon copy of the very

16:30

things. That made Tory famous.

16:33

The thing is, you can do this in fashion.

16:36

It's a weird quirk of American

16:38

law. You can't copy a

16:40

few bars of music in this country. That's

16:43

why there are always these big lawsuits between

16:45

stars and composers who feel like they've

16:47

knocked off their songs. But you

16:49

can totally copy any sort of fashion

16:51

design you want, and US copyright

16:54

law doesn't have anything to say about

16:56

it. We didn't have big fashion houses

16:58

until relatively recently. Like

17:01

remember how I said Tori was perhaps

17:03

the most famous American female

17:05

designer Most high end

17:07

designers that are popular here

17:09

are European, Chanel, Prada.

17:13

And look, a lot of them involve very

17:15

complicated fashion families. The

17:18

Versace's, the Prada's,

17:20

or father, son, and

17:22

the house of Gucci. I

17:29

have never heard of a fashion family

17:31

where one spouse is accused of

17:33

copying another spouse. It's

17:35

like, and I have absolutely no basis to

17:37

say this in fact, this is just a metaphor. It's

17:40

sort of like robbing Peter to pay Paul

17:43

because Chris is still invested in

17:45

Tory's company. So

17:47

what does Chris have to say for himself about all

17:49

this? Well, that's the next

17:52

episode of infamous.

17:55

They were livid about

17:57

humongous, and it was unequivocal.

18:00

New York's NASA a two billion dollar

18:02

war of the x's just got nastier.

18:08

Infomus is executive produced

18:10

created and hosted by Gabriel Sherman

18:13

and me, Vanessa Gregorianis. Natalie

18:16

Rovamed wrote and recorded this episode,

18:18

Our managing producer and editor is

18:20

Shoshi Smolovets. Heather Schirring

18:22

and I edited this episode, and Grace

18:25

Herrman, Garrett Graham, Rajiv Gola,

18:27

and Lilly Hewson Smith produced.

18:30

David Devereaux's sound design the episode

18:32

and it was recorded by I-one Lai

18:34

Trumuen. Some of this reporting

18:36

appeared in Vanity Fair magazine. Thank

18:38

you so much. See you next week.