Katherine Noel Valentine Brosnahan Spade (born Katherine Noel Brosnahan; December 24, 1962 – June 5, 2018) was an American fashion designer, entrepreneur, and fashion icon. She was the co-founder and co-owner of the designer brand Kate Spade New York.
Early life
Spade was born Katherine Noel Brosnahan in Kansas City,
Missouri, the daughter of June (Mullen) and Francis (Frank) Brosnahan, who
owned a road-construction company. She was of mostly Irish descent. After
graduating from St. Teresa's Academy, an all-female Catholic high school, Spade
attended the University of Kansas. She later transferred to Arizona State
University. She joined the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and graduated with a
journalism degree in 1985, thinking she would go into television production.
While in college, she worked in sales at Carter's Men Shop, a men's clothing
store in Phoenix; her co-worker was Andy Spade, who later became her husband
and business partner.
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Career
Mademoiselle
By 1986, the couple had moved to Manhattan. Kate worked in
the accessories department at Mademoiselle. She left Mademoiselle in 1991,
achieving the rank of senior fashion editor and head of accessories. While
working for Mademoiselle, she had noticed that the market lacked stylish,
affordable, and sensible handbags, so decided to create her own.
Kate and Andy founded Kate Spade New York in January 1993.
Spade was initially undecided on the brand's name, because Andy and she had not
yet married, and "Kate
Brosnahan" seemed a cumbersome name for a fashion label. She
considered a number of names, but agreed when Andy suggested "Kate Spade", as she would
take the name Spade after their marriage.
Spade made six prototypes with Scotch tape and paper, and
found a manufacturer in East New York willing to work with a startup to produce
the bags. To finance the company, Andy, who had worked as a copywriter,
withdrew his 401(k) pension plan and sometimes paid employees with personal
checks. The couple spent their shipping season living at friends' apartments,
since their own was filled with boxed handbags.
After an early show at the Javits Center at which the
department-store chain Barneys ordered a few bags, Spade decided to put the
bag's labels on the outside, a change that took her all night to alter, but
established the brand.
The bags, priced in the US$150 to $450 range, quickly became
popular, particularly in New York. That was "a
real shift" in fashion, said Fern Mallis, director of the Council of
Fashion Designers of America during the 1990s. "Everybody had Kate Spade bags. You could afford them, and happily
buy more than one."
Young American women at the time also liked the bags'
sophisticated look. One woman recalled that the Kate Spade bags looked "mature, without being too adult for a
teenager," unlike higher-priced brands such as Burberry or Louis
Vuitton. "At the turn of the last
century, her bag came to encapsulate a decidedly Manhattan moment in
time," a moment when Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour recalled that
it was impossible to walk a block in the city without seeing one.
The company exclusively sold handbags at first, but soon
expanded to clothing, jewelry, shoes, stationery, eyewear, baby items,
fragrances, and gifts. In 1996, the Kate Spade brand opened its first boutique,
a 400-square-foot (37 m2) shop in Manhattan's trendy SoHo district, and moved
its headquarters into a 10,000-square-foot (930 m2) space on West 25th Street.
Kate Spade also had two brand extensions called Kate Spade
Saturday and Jack Spade. Kate Spade Saturday carried more casual handbags and
apparel, but had heavy promotions and eventually closed in 2015. Jack Spade was
a menswear line created by Kate Spade that offered men's leather goods and
accessories, but that also closed in 2015.
In 1999, Spade sold a 56% stake in her business to Neiman
Marcus Group, helping to expand the brand worldwide.
In 2004, "Kate
Spade at Home" was launched as a home-collection brand. It featured
bedding, bath items, china, wallpaper, table decor, flatware, and various decoration
items. A Kate Spade store was opened in Aoyama, Tokyo, Japan.
Spade also published three books on the subjects of
etiquette, entertainment, and fashion: Manners, Occasions, and Style,
respectively.
By 2006, Spade had sold the remaining 44% of her shares to
Neiman Marcus Group. The group sold the label in 2006 to Liz Claiborne Inc.,
for $124 million; it was later renamed Fifth & Pacific. The company was
later purchased by Coach, Inc. in May 2017; both Coach and Kate Spade are now
part of Tapestry, Inc.
Frances Valentine
After selling the remaining portion of her ownership in her
brand, Spade took several years off to focus on her newborn daughter.
In 2016, she launched a new collection of luxury footwear
and handbags under the brand name Frances Valentine. The name stemmed from a
hybrid of family names; Frances is a family name on Spade's paternal side. "Valentine" was Spade's
maternal grandfather's middle name, having been born on Valentine's Day. Spade
later legally added Valentine to her full name.
After Spade's death, the brand released a collection of
designs called "Love Katy"
in her memory. Spade had several years' worth of designs and inspirations for
the brand, and the company plans to launch them.
Personal life
Spade married Andy Spade, the brother of actor/comedian
David Spade, in 1994. While not legally separated, the couple had begun living
apart a few months before her death.
The couple's only child, a daughter, was born in 2005.
Actress Rachel Brosnahan is Spade's niece. On April 11,
2002, Spade appeared as herself in an episode of Just Shoot Me!, “Blush Gets Some Therapy”, season six
episode nineteen, alongside her brother-in-law David Spade.
Death
A housekeeper found Spade dead in her Manhattan apartment on
June 5, 2018. Her death was ruled a suicide by hanging. Police reported that
she had left a note, which was addressed to her daughter. The day after his
wife's death, Andy Spade released a statement:
Kate suffered from
depression and anxiety for many years. She was actively seeking help and
working closely with doctors to treat her disease, one that takes far too many
lives. We were in touch with her the night before and she sounded happy. There
was no indication and no warning that she would do this. It was a complete
shock. And it clearly wasn't her. There were personal demons she was battling.
Following her death, the flagship Kate Spade New York store
in Manhattan (and soon other stores nationwide) displayed a sign in its front
window reading:
Kate Spade, the
visionary founder of our brand, has passed. Our thoughts are with her family at
this incredibly heartbreaking time. We honor all the beauty she brought into
this world.
Awards
In 1996, the Council of Fashion Designers of America awarded
Spade "America's New Fashion Talent
in Accessories" for her classic designs. In 1998, the organization again
honored her for "Best Accessory Designer of the Year".
Her home collection won her three design awards in 2004,
including, House Beautiful's "Giants
of Design Award for Tastemaker", Bon Appétit's "American Food and Entertaining Award for Designer of the
Year", and Elle Decor's "Elle
Decor International Design Award for Bedding".
In 2017, she was inducted into the Entrepreneur Hall of Fame
at the Henry W. Bloch School of Management at the University of Missouri,
Kansas City.
Also in 2017, she was named one of the Most Creative People in
Business by Fast Company.
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