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Birth
On December 24, 1962 Kate Noel Brosnahan was born in Kansas City, Missouri. When she was younger, she wasn’t interested in the current fashion world. She would rather wear old antique clothing that belonged to a relative rather than wearing the up and coming styles (Lynne, Courtner). Though she may not of been into the new styles, she was your “all-american” girl who was girly and unique. As we see in her later years, she stayed the same as she matured. -
Part-time college job
When attending college, Kate worked part-time at a men’s clothing store where she met her current spouse, Andy Spade. Obviously, both Kate and Andy had a lot of things in common, one of those things being fashion. We are able to look at this photo and not only notice their fashionable appearence but also their happiness (Wood, Natasha). With Andy's back round in advertising and Kate's in journalism, they created something new (“Kate Spade / Jack Spade - Fashion Designer Interview”). -
College graduation
In 1985, Kate graduated from Arizona State University with a major in journalism. She decided after college to travel Europe in order to figure out what she was going to do with her career ("Reference for Business”). This decision to travel was a huge contributor to her future career. A huge part of the company’s image is to encourage people to be spontanious and carefree. Traveling allowed Kate to see the different style worldwide and later use it to her advantage. -
Kate's first real job
After college and traveling Europe, Kate found a job as a fashion editor for Mademoiselle Magazine. She worked their for about six years before quitting because she was unpleased with the way she was treated by her boss (“Kate Spade / Jack Spade - Fashion Designer Interview”). She also realized that the fashion world didn’t have a simple yet sleek handbag that can be style in thousands of ways ("Secondary Navigation”). Her motivation and independence helped get her where she is today. -
Kate's first real Job continued
Standing up to her boss seemed to give her the motivation and confidence she needed to be successful. -
Launch of Kate Spade Handbags
In 1993, Kate Spade and her husband debuted the handbags in the trade show at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. Barney and Charivari were the first buyers of these bags. They sold them in their stores and quickly wanted more. Eventually, Kate Spade bags were featured in Vogue and were demanded everywhere ("Reference for Business”). These bags showed a sleek style in a new, versatile way that the public seemed to love. -
A year of awards
In 2004, Kate had many new acheivements. She published a book, Places to Go People to See, that focuses on traveling. The current president of Kate Spade mentions that the comapny has always been a huge promoter of traveling, especially after Kate traveled Europe following college. The company has also been inspired by travel experiences and encourages everyone to take the opportunity to see the world if that can ("Style Talk: Deborah Lloyd, President and Chief Creative Officer, Kate Spade -
A year of awards continued
New York”). Kate Spade’s original handbag is ment to be a versatile for everyone and seeing the different cultures around the world has definitly helped the company produce the best image of that bag. Other achievements during that year include moving the company internationally, creating a home brand, and winning three different design awards ("Reference for Business”). -
The Present
Currently, Kate and Andy remain active with the original Kate and Jack Spade brands but have begun new projects such as a the Detail Preservation Society, a home collection, and working with J. Crew (O'Brien, Glenn). They’ve come a long way since college and have used their knowledge to do as much as they can. Recently, they had their first child, a baby boy named Frances Beatrix Spade. Their most recent project includes their investment in Plum Televsion ("Kate Spade (1962-)”). -
The Present continued
With this much motivation and success, I am sure their will be more to come from Kate Spade.
