quotables

Tory Burch Is Thankful for Oprah; We’re Thankful for Livia Firth

Photo: Brad Barket/Getty Images

Today in New York, Forbes held its first-ever Power Redefined Women’s Summit with speakers ranging from Janet Napolitano to Donna Karan. “This is a women’s conference that’s not about women’s issues,” said Moira Forbes in her introduction. “It’s about the next generation of young leaders coming together with established women to solve the world’s problem.”

Newly deemed billionaire Tory Burch was one of the first to speak, and opened with a sweet shout-out to Oprah. “I really thought it was a joke,” Burch said of Oprah featuring her flats in the Favorite Things episode, which basically launched her brand. “The next day after the show we had 8 million hits on our website.”

So other than befriending Oprah, what tips did the powerful women have for us lowly plebes? The best pointer, and most poignant today, actually came from Livia Firth, who is the creative director of ecofashion company Eco Age but is also known as Colin Firth’s wife. When an audience member asked what we can actually do to empower women in fashion, she replied, “Ask yourself what you’re wearing, who made it? You can change lives.”

Follow the live-blog of the summit here.

Tory Burch Is Thankful for Oprah