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.

Young American women at the time also liked the bags' sophisticated look. You could afford them, and happily buy more than one.' That was 'a real shift' in fashion, said Fern Mallis, director of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) during the 1990s. The bags, priced in the $150 to $450 (USD) range, quickly became popular, particularly in New York. Īfter 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 couple spent their shipping season living at friends' apartments since their own was filled with boxed handbags. To finance the company, Andy, who had worked as a copywriter, withdrew his 401(k) pension plan and sometimes paid employees with personal checks. 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. She considered a number of names, but agreed when Andy suggested 'Kate Spade', as she would take the name Spade after their marriage. Spade was initially undecided on the brand's name, because she and Andy had not yet married, and 'Kate Brosnahan' seemed a cumbersome name for a fashion label. Kate and Andy founded Kate Spade New York in January 1993. While working for Mademoiselle, she had noticed that the market lacked stylish, affordable and sensible handbags and decided to create her own. She left Mademoiselle in 1991, achieving the rank of Senior Fashion Editor/Head of Accessories. Kate worked in the accessories department at Mademoiselle magazine. Career Mademoiselle īy 1986, the couple had moved to Manhattan. 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. She joined the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and graduated with a journalism degree in 1985, thinking she would go into television production. She later transferred to Arizona State University. Teresa's Academy, an all-female Catholic high school, Spade attended the University of Kansas. 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.

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