“Playing dress up begins at age five and never truly ends.”
-Kate Spade
Kate Spade was a fashion icon, known around the world for her namesake brand, “Kate Spade New York.” She grew up in the Kansas City area but had a passion for fashion that would allow her to see the world. Her signature handbags became a “must have” item for women as her business empire grew rapidly. Sadly, even having this level of success came with unique challenges that led to her suicide. Even after death, her name is still known around the world as her empire continue to grow.
Katherine Noel Brosnahan was born on December 24th, 1962 in Kansas City, Missouri. She grew up in the Kansas City area and attended St. Teresa’s Academy, which is an all-girls Catholic school in the Quality Hill part of town. She was often quoted as saying that she knew early in life that she was destined for a career in fashion. But her college studies at the University of Kansas and Arizona State University first led her to a career in journalism.
Once Kate graduated from college, she pursued her career in media. Her first job was with Mademoiselle magazine in New York City. It was during this time that she and her eventual husband, Andy Spade, began living together. They had known each other from her years in Arizona when they worked at a clothing store together.
Now that she had some fashion experience under her belt, and a big-time magazine on her resume, she was ready for the next level in her career. Kate had realized that there was a big market for fashionable accessories at a reasonable price. So, two years after leaving Mademoiselle magazine, she and her husband founded the company that would have a dramatic impact on the fashion industry for decades to come.
The couple, Kate and Andy, founded “Kate Spade Handbags” early in 1993, although it took
some time to come up with the right name. She wanted the bags to have a memorable
name, but her name, Kate Brosnahan, didn’t seem to fit. They finally agreed to merge her
first name, with his last name, to come up with something that was memorable, yet easy to
sell.
The company took a dramatic shift for the better after fashion marketing event, where Barney’s New York decided to take a risk on the women’s accessory. They were priced affordable yet had a cool vibe that resonated with New Yorkers. Soon, it seemed everybody was carrying a Kate Spade bag. Not only could young, hip consumers buy a high-quality bag,
but they could afford to buy multiple styles, which helped drive sales.
The early success, and the now iconic name, Kate Spade, eventually drove the company to
branch out. Less than five years after its founding, Kate Spade had lines of clothing,
housewares, accessories, baby items and everything fashionable in between. The company
was now a New York fashion institution, with a worldwide reputation for quality. The
company Kate Spade founded grew to such a level that it was eventually bought out for tens
of millions of dollars.
Never one to sit still for long, Spade eventually launched another fashion brand in 2016 called
Frances Valentine, named after her daughter. Sadly, Kate died less than two years after
founding that brand due to suicide after suffering from anxiety and depression.
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