Kate Spade (born Katherine Noel Brosnahan in Kansas City, Missouri in 1962) is the co-founder and namesake of the designer brand, "Kate Spade New York."

Education

Spade graduated from St. Teresa's Academy, an all-girl Catholic high school in Kansas City, Missouri. She majored in journalism at Arizona State University, during which time she also worked in a motorcycle bar, and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.

Mademoiselle Magazine

In 1986, Spade worked in the accessories department of Mademoiselle in Manhattan, where she was credited in the magazine's masthead as Katy Brosnahan. While at Mademoiselle she met Bradley Carvette who worked in the art department and would become a longtime boyfriend. Together, they were featured in the magazine as part of a photo story on couples and love.

She left Mademoiselle in 1991, with the title of senior fashion editor/head of accessories. While working for Mademoiselle she noticed that the market lacked stylish and sensible handbags, so decided to create her own. With this in mind, Kate browsed local flea markets, began researching different styles, fabrics, production costs, and created a line of handbags with classic shapes, colors, and fabrics.

Andy Spade

Spade met her future husband, Andy Spade (brother of actor and comic, David Spade), a native of Scottsdale, Arizona, while at ASU, working side-by-side as salespersons in a men's clothing store, Carter's Men Shop in Phoenix. They were married in 1994.

Jack Spade, a fictional name, is the men's complement to the Kate Spade brand. Its founder and principal designer was Andy Spade. In recent years, Kate Spade has been featuring designs and special editions by guest designers and is no longer the sole artistic vision of the husband and wife team.

Shops

The brand currently has 25 Kate Spade boutiques around the world: 16 in the United States, 5 in Japan, 3 in Hong Kong, and 4 in the Philippines.In 2004, Women's Wear Daily reported that Kate Spade had sales of $125 million. It was predicted that in fiscal 2005, sales could reach and surpass $200 million. The Neiman Marcus Group Inc., which formerly owned Kate Spade, sold it to Liz Claiborne for $124 million in November 2006.

Awards

Kate Spade has won numerous awards throughout her career. In 1996 the Council of Fashion Designers of America awarded Kate "America's New Fashion Talent in Accessories" for her classic designs. In 1998, CFDA once again honored her for "Best Accessory Designer of the Year". Kate Spade's home collection won her three design awards in 2004, including, House Beautiful's "Giants of Design Award for Tastemaker", Bon Appetit's "American Food and Entertaining Award for Designer of the Year", and Elle Decor's "Elle Decor International Design Award for Bedding".