She is a Woman of the Year because: "She's a great businesswoman, but her legacy is helping other women. Charity is fine, but this is empowerment." -entrepreneur Russell Simmons

Tory Burch has a confession: She never expected things would get this big. When she started, "I had a five-year plan of three stores," she says. Instead, she pulled off one of the quickest rises to icon status in fashion history, rocketing from "Tory who?" in 2004 to, today, a $330-million-a-year brand worn by everyone from Taylor Swift to Michelle Obama. This year she's outdone herself: She's added 18 new stores to her 46 Tory Burch shops worldwide-including a flagship on Madison Avenue-and industry insiders predict that her 2011 revenue will jump an eye-popping 52 percent. Despite her success, Burch, 45, whose first fashion job was as an assistant for designer Zoran, remains modest. "I see myself as a tomboy who grew up on a Pennsylvania farm and who has three kids," she says. "I never went to design school."

Even so, her iconic products-the easy-to-wear tunic and that shoe, her T-logo ballet flat-got people buzzing, fast. One early convert was Oprah, who in 2005 touted Burch's designs on TV ("I'm lovin' ‘em!" she raved) and wore a Tory tunic on the cover of O magazine. Says Ron Frasch, president and chief merchandising officer of Saks Inc., "Tory understood that people wanted great quality and value and trendy looks in a way that fits their lifestyle."

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