Kate Spade was touted as an influence for many solo female designers such as Anna Sui and Jenna Lyons. The convenience of reaping these financial benefits under the condition of trading the creativity of mind often leads to guilt, which Spade most likely felt. When brands are sold to larger conglomerates, it can be frustrating for the designer to see their own brand-labeled products being sold knowing that the creative mind behind them is not their own. “It was impossible to walk a block in the city without seeing one” - Anna WintourĪfter having sold the remainder of her company shares to the Neiman Marcus Group and Liz Claiborne Inc., Kate Spade took a leave of absence to take care of her daughter, Frances Beatrix Spade. By the ‘90s, everyone had Kate Spade bags. Spade quickly caught the eye of The New York Times, Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), Vogue, and even potential fashion department chains seeking to acquire her company. Though the company expanded its products to clothing, jewelry, shoes, stationary, eyewear, and more, the crux of the brand still remained in its bags. Spade’s brand gradually garnered more and more attention, simply because more and more people could buy them, and because people could buy the bags more than once.
The bags were priced at around $150-$400, not terribly expensive, but affordable enough that a teenager could buy one with a bit of disposable income left over. The launch of these bags signaled a shift in the public’s relation to fashion brands. When Barneys ordered a few bags for a fashion show at Javitz Center, Spade, in the spur of the moment, decided to stick the “Kate Spade” logo on the exterior of the bag, a tedious process for a single night, but one that would stylize the minimalistic, high-end look of the bag. Spade’s beginnings were humble: she started out making prototypes with scotch tape and paper, her husband often paid employees with checks from his previous 401(k) pension, and the couple would often sleep over at friends’ apartments during shipping seasons because their apartment would be flooded with bags. Her decision to quit a coveted magazine job in pursuit of branding her designs was risky, brash, and outright visionary. In a bold move, she and her husband launched “kate spade handbags,” a New York-based design company. She recalled how she thought the fashion market lacked stylish, accessible handbags. Kate eventually left Mademoiselle while she was the Senior Fashion Editor. The two both worked as salespeople for Carter’s Men Shop, both unaware that they would embark on a romantic, turbulent companionship for 35 years. It was through this gig where she met her future husband, Andy Spade. She eventually started out as a writer for the accessories department for Mademoiselle magazine in New York. According to Spade, fashion initially remained as a secondary interest for her, but never a serious obsession for her. She attended the University of Kansas before transferring to Arizona State University, graduating with a degree in journalism in pursuit of a career in television production (she cited the 1987 drama film Broadcast News as her inspiration).
Kate Spade was born in Kansas City, Missouri.
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