Tory Burch and The Explorers Club Launch Women in Exploration Capsule Collection

Tory Burch and The Explorers Club released a limited-edition capsule of sport apparel and accessories ahead of International Women's Day, centered on a newly designed "Women in Exploration" patch that made history before it ever shipped: it marked the first time a female figure appeared on an Explorers Club emblem in the institution's 122-year existence.

Burch collaborated with medal designer and nature artist Emily Damstra to create the patch, which depicts a woman climbing skyward wearing Burch's signature chevron leggings and jacket. The image is small but pointed. For an institution founded in 1904 whose seal had always featured a man, placing a woman mid-ascent on the official emblem carries weight that goes well beyond fashion.

"The patch represents all of the extraordinary women who have broken barriers, ventured into the unknown, and advanced the fields of exploration, research, and conservation," Burch said. "I hope it will inspire the next generation to follow in their courageous footsteps."

The capsule applied that patch to three pieces: recycled nylon belt bags, Exploration Baseball Caps (available in Bay Blue), and a Tech Canvas Expedition Jacket built from durable technical fabrics with an athletic silhouette. Prices ran from $90 to $595, with all pieces sold through toryburch.com. Ten percent of net proceeds benefits The Explorers Club's programs for women explorers, though no specific program names or duration were announced.

The women named on the patch's product pages give a sense of the legacy being invoked: Jane Goodall, Sylvia Earle, Carol Beckwith, and Kathryn Sullivan, all Explorers Club members whose careers spanned primatology, marine biology, ethnographic photography, and NASA's first American female spacewalk, respectively.

Barbara Doran, president-elect of The Explorers Club, framed the collaboration in plainly historical terms. "For more than a century, women have been at the forefront of exploration, diving deeper, climbing higher, and pushing the boundaries of scientific discovery," she said. "Jane Goodall, Sylvia Earle, Kathryn Sullivan, and so many others didn't wait for an invitation. They led the way. This partnership with Tory Burch gives that legacy the recognition it deserves, and I'm proud that it will directly support the next generation of women explorers. The patch is new, but the spirit behind it is as old as The Explorers Club itself."

As a gift, the baseball cap is the most accessible entry point at the lower end of the price range, and Tory Burch offers complimentary gift wrap at checkout for orders shipping to all 50 U.S. states, with free shipping and returns in the continental U.S. The packaging alone, based on product imagery, reflects the brand's usual standard of presentation. For a woman who identifies with any corner of that legacy, whether she follows Sylvia Earle's ocean conservation work or simply runs trails on weekends, the capsule functions as something rarer than sportswear: a wearable argument that she belongs in the story.