During the past few years, I spent a lot of time thinking about a very impactful time of my life. That period is captured in this photo. I was 19 years old and had made the difficult, but exciting decision to pause my amazing college experience at Spelman to study abroad in Paris.
Arriving in this unknown and distant country was initially daunting and terrifying, as I had never been outside of the US and spoke horrible French at the time. However, I quickly adjusted after connecting with the city’s extraordinary fashion history.
I lived with May (pictured on the left), a feisty, stylish, and prideful French woman who took me under me her wings, determined to impart in me a deep appreciation for Paris’ rich fashion heritage. From her perspective, clothing and accessories were not merely materialistic items, but were foundational elements of the fabric and traditions of her culture. This excellence and mastery of artistic skills made her so proud.
May introduced me to the art luxury fashion. Not in a perceived value sense as it’s often marketed in the US, but on a cellular, or intricate level. She opened an entire new world to me and inspired me to achieve excellence in fashion. This curiosity took me to Venice, where I discovered the most impeccable shoes imaginable!
Today, after having run my brand, Tori Soudan (ToriSoudan.com) for the past 14 years, I want to introduce the craftsmanship and excellence of luxury to others, the same way that May did for me. During my many trips to France and Italy for my brand, I couldn’t help but notice the lack of diversity in this space and it has been quite disappointing. In 2021, I felt compelled and passionate to launch this passion project, The Bronze Suite, a luxury consulting and international fashion tour company.
THE ART of luxury
to discover
the World
Travel
We believe that luxury is an art, not just products. In this divine space, everyone has their own meaningful and uniquely creative perspective.
We at The Bronze Suite are committed to helping our clients manifest and realize their ideas in an authentic and significant way. Our team of experts in ideation, design, production, finance, and business and sales strategy work with clients to launch innovative and unique products and activations that serve the luxury market.
design -production- strategy - Finance
with our Experts
Divine Products
create
An artist and visionary, her purpose, which was born out of a love for fashion, began at just 9 years old in her hometown of Stratford, Connecticut where her mother taught her to make dresses. As a teenager, Tori progressed to designing prom gowns for classmates. Her inspiration to design footwear came in 1994 when she studied abroad and saw a demonstration given by a master shoemaker near Venice, Italy. She was struck by the intricacies of shoemaking and embarked on her vision to design footwear of impeccable quality. After graduating from Spelman College, studying design at the famed Parsons School of Design, and interning with American sportswear designer Tommy Hilfiger, Tori was ready to give women what she knew they deserved, the most superlative shoes imaginable and in 2011, she debuted her first collection.
Today the Tori Soudan brand is about timeless sophistication and sexy, fearless style. Tori’s designs, which are handmade in Italy by master artisans, are also evocative of her love of art, photography, fashion, and exotic destinations, all of which translate into a heady dose of color, texture, wit, and directional detailing – be it architectural shapes or a provocative combination of unique skins and opulent fabrics.
Creative curator, Designer, speaker, CEO
Tori Soudan
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