The Tamesis
Fashion’s biggest night may only be a few days away, but the Tory Burch Foundation’s annual Founders Breakfast has now confirmed the Thursday ahead. earliest morning in May. As is now tradition, hundreds of people dutifully set their alarm clocks to ensure they arrived at the Hotel Pierre before the 7:45 a.m. call time. They get along very well. After all, few people take punctuality as seriously as this year’s Iconic Founders honoree, Anna Wintour.
Last year’s iconic founder, Martha Stewart, was among those arriving early to celebrate the 2026 Founders Breakfast honorees. Guests including Chloe Malle, Amanda Seyfried, Huma Abedin, Aerin Lauder and Steven Kolb took their seats at the Tory Burch-clad table Aite Garden Poppy and mustard linens, hear stories of resilience, entrepreneurship and motherhood from the Class of 2026. These include Viola Sutanto, founder of bag and accessories brand Maika; Andrea Seymour, co-founder and CEO of Springdale Custom Builders and one of the few female leaders in the construction industry; and Pilar Guzman, community advocate and founder of Half Moon Empanadas.
Burch also took the stage to present the final Founders Award to Jennifer Peet, the granddaughter of Oliver Ann Beach. The late Beechcraft co-founder was a force: She topped best-dressed lists of the time and In 1940, a coup ousted the company’s all-male board of directors. “I have a feeling Anna would love Olive Ann. She has a spine of steel, is a style icon and is a brilliant entrepreneur,” Burch said. “But not all entrepreneurs start companies. Some, like Anna, change institutions.”
So Burch invited her old friend Wintour, the chief content officer of Condé Nast, to fashion magazine Global Editorial Director, accepting the award. The two took their seats on stage to discuss how Wintour capitalized on her early interest in fashion and journalism (sparked by her father’s tenure as editor of London’s Vogue magazine) evening standard) irreversibly shaped the American fashion and magazine industries.
The conversation ranged from mentorship and hiring wisdom — “make sure they know what they’re talking about, and make sure you like them,” Wintour said of the philosophy she inherited from her father — to what she’s learned from hosting the Met Gala, a position she inherited from Oscar de La Renta and affectionately calls it her “second full-time job” in 30 years.
As for honing her eye as an editor and talent scout, she says: “The secret to a great designer is: study your craft, study the business, understand what’s going on underneath all the glamour, and be very, very focused on what you can say.”
Before the breakfast ended, Wintour offered some final reflections on her recent career developments. “One of the greatest joys of my job is helping others learn their craft and become who they can be,” she said. “I feel very, very lucky that I’m in this position now where I have more freedom to focus on my global role, travel more and look at the bigger picture.”
When the dust settled, the entrepreneur attendees dispersed from the Hotel Pierre with just enough time to grab a cup of coffee. and On time for the 10am meeting they were waiting for.
