Who Was Kate Spade? All About Her Life, Legacy, and Friendship with Elyce Arons

It started in the mid-1980s at the University of Kansas. Elyce Arons and Kate Brosnahan, later known to the world as Kate Spade, were two young women from completely different walks of life thrown together as college roommates. Elyce, the Kansas farm girl, practical and no-nonsense. Kate, the preppy Midwesterner with loafers, baggy khakis, and an already well-curated sense of style. At first, they didn’t seem like a match. Elyce found Kate’s clean-cut aesthetic too buttoned up, and Kate teasingly called Elyce “Jethro” anytime she did something farm-like.

But as it turned out, their differences were the perfect mix. They became best friends quickly, bonded by a shared ambition to leave Kansas behind and chase bigger dreams in the big city. Inspired by Mary Richards from “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” they wanted chic jobs, fashionable wardrobes, and their names in glossy magazines. They went to frat parties, scouted thrift stores for affordable style, and dreamed loudly.

The Rise of Kate Spade and the Woman Behind the Scenes

Years later, their dream took off. Kate moved to New York and worked in fashion publishing, and Elyce wasn’t far behind. In the early 1990s, Kate designed a small collection of structured handbags that were fresh, functional, and colorful. They reflected her upbeat personality and polished eye. But behind the scenes, it was Elyce who helped build the engine.

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Together with Kate’s husband Andy Spade, Elyce helped run the growing business. She wasn’t just a partner; she was family. When Kate would exclaim “Baby, baby!” before digging into a sandwich or sealing a handbag deal, Elyce was usually nearby, cheering her on or helping her make the next smart decision.

The Quieter Side of Katy: A Force With Fragility

In her memoir We Might Just Make It After All, Elyce Arons pulls back the curtain on a Kate Spade many never got to know. Katy, as Elyce still calls her, had a side that wasn’t all sunshine and stripes. Despite her laugh, her squeals, and her bright designs, there was a quieter, sometimes fragile core.

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Elyce writes with tenderness about the times Kate’s confidence would dip or when her cheerful exterior masked emotional weight. Even through the highs of international success, there were valleys. But what mattered most was that their friendship held strong. From giggling over cheap wine in their twenties to dealing with high-stakes business meetings in their thirties, they were still just Elyce and Katy — two Kansas girls trying to make it.

When the World Lost Kate, Elyce Lost More Than a Friend

In 2018, when Kate Spade died by suicide, the news shocked the fashion world. But for Elyce, it was something even deeper. She lost her best friend of nearly four decades. Someone she’d met before the world knew her name, before the handbags, before the fame.

Elyce’s memoir isn’t just about business or success. It’s a love letter to a woman who made the world a little brighter, but who sometimes struggled to keep her own light lit. In telling their story, Elyce reminds us that behind every icon is a real person — and often, a friend who knows the whole story.

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