– Fashion heritage. What does it take to create one of the most iconic and lasting brands in the US way? For Elyce Arons, it’s an unshakable work ethic, the best friendship with one of the ultimate tasters of fashion and some Kismet.
Now CEO of Frances Valentine, a colorful luxury handbag and fashion brand, Arons first caught the attention of the industry after co-founding Kate Spade with Pamela Bell, Andy Spade, and the company’s eponymous and Arons’ aforementioned best friend Katy. Arons reflects on meeting at the University of Kansas, the beginning of two careers in New York in the late 1980s, launching Kate Spade in her new memoir, more in her new memoir We might just do thispublished this week.
Courtesy of Elyce Arons and Frances Valentine
Of course, Arons’ book also addresses Spade’s tragic death in 2018, a loss that puts the fashion world in trouble and still reverberates throughout Arons’ life (the duo also brings Frances Valentine together). But it’s the core of Arens’ writing and the lives of the two women that owes her book, whose focus is on humor, adventure and beauty, the heart of a story where fledgling artists and entrepreneurs struggle alone. Readers will learn about all the work of creating a multi-billion dollar company; ups and downs, disagreements, and contingencies. They will get Katy behind Kate Spade: Katy of introvert, talented and best friend.
“I want her legacy to be remembered in this beautiful, positive way because she is an amazing person,” Alons told me in a Zoom interview last month.
In addition to detailed personal relationships, Arens’s book also gave me nostalgia for New York in the 1990s and early 2000s, when a group of friends with some industry knowledge, rich creativity and a large number of Mosey could create one of the most well-known and well-known brands. New York is gritty, but for countless people it is full of magic and possibilities, which their brand stands for. Kate shovel bags are more affordable than other luxury brands, but still tasteful and stylish. It became the first big purchase for many young professionals, the “passing ceremony for generations of women”, a symbol of independence. It’s exactly what you expect from women like Alons and Spades.
Arons wrote that the early key to the success of Kate Spade was the team’s attempt to create a passionate environment and only hire people they like. She found that as the boss of another company, the advice was still correct, while telling the recent graduate that her own daughter recently entered the workforce to work early and be late. She said both employees and employers should feel that they are contributing to the whole and be proud of the company they work for.
“You spend most of your time at work, right? It should be fun, it should be enjoyable, and you don’t feel bad about work or making mistakes,” Arons told me. “Try your best. People don’t care if you don’t know what to do, but learn how to do it.”
Alicia Adamczyk
Alicia.Adamczyk@fortune.com
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