Kate Spade has died in an apparent suicide at 55. Here's the story behind the rise of her handbag empire.
Kate Spade was the accessories editors at Mademoiselle magazine before she left to set up her own handbag company in 1993.
Her boyfriend at the time, Andy Spade, encouraged her to set up the business. The brand name was a mash-up of their names. The couple married in 1994.
"The reason I started making handbags was because of Andy's suggestion. After moving through a number of positions, I had been promoted to senior fashion editor after six years at Mademoiselle magazine. I wasn't sure the next step was one I wanted to make. Andy just said, 'You know, I think we should start something,'" she told CNN Money in 2003.
Source: CNN Money
Andy, who was in advertising at the time, quit his job and joined the business full time. Over the next few years, the couple built up the business out of their loft in Tribeca.
"We had so many boxes in our 1,800-square-foot loft during shipping time that we had a path from the bedroom to the bathroom. It was hot. We had no air conditioning, and it was August. We had put everything into this. I put in my 401(k) money. We didn't know for sure that the business was going to work," Andy Spade told CNN Money.
The brand became as popular and exclusive as legacy designer brands such as Gucci. Sales jumped from $100,000 in 1993 to $1.5 million in 1995 and to $27 million in 1998.
Source: Racked
“The purses became something of a handshake,” Wall Street Journal fashion reporter Christina Binkley told Racked in 2016. “When two women met and saw they were both holding Kate Spade bags, they’d nod at each other and understand they were on the same page. It was very chic.”
Spade went on to win several awards. She was named "America's New Fashion Talent in Accessories" by the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 1996. Two years later, the CFDA named her the best accessory designer of the year.
In 2002, Glamour named her the woman of the year.
In an interview with the magazine, she said: "I hope that people remember me not just as a good businesswoman but as a great friend — and a heck of a lot of fun."
The Spades sold a 56% stake of the business to Neiman Marcus in 1999 for $33.6 million. By 2006, they had parted from the brand completely, selling their remaining stake for $59 million.
One week later, Neiman sold the entire brand to Liz Claiborne for $124 million.
The brand was acquired by Coach — which is now Tapestry — for $2.4 billion in 2017.
Kate Spade spent the following few years bringing up her daughter, Frances Beatrix, who was born in 2005. Kate and Andy Spade then ventured back into fashion in 2015, launching Frances Valentine, which sells shoes and handbags.
Handbags at Frances Valentine cost around $200.
In a recent video posted to Frances Valentine's website, Spade talked about where she found inspiration.
"People always ask me, 'Where do you find inspiration?' and I think that's a very difficult question because I think everywhere ... I find it in everyday life," she said.
"The most fun thing about what I do is about working with friends and family. I would say the most challenging part is working with friends and family," she joked.
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