Washington Life Magazine
Washington Life Magazine

An Evening of Shopping with Kate Spade
Accessories, accessories, accessories . . .

Late last year, Kate and Andy Spade visited Washington to host an evening of shopping at their Georgetown kate spade boutique. Over cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, guests had a chance to mingle with Kate and view her line of bags, shoes and other accessories. The event was co-hosted with Vogue, and 10 percent of the evening’s proceeds benefited the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Washington Life had the chance to sit down with Kate for a few minutes during the event.

Washington Life: When you started with a little colorful bag, did you think 10 years later that you’d have branched into shoes, perfume and stationery?
Kate Spade: No.

WL: What’s next? Should we be expecting a baby spade line?
KS:
Everyone always says if you have a baby, then there will be a baby spade line. Andy and I got the idea of a home collection when we moved. So, maybe if I have a baby that’s when we will do a baby spade collection.

WL: The key trends in fashion right now are retro and ladylike glamour and you seem to have embraced that all along. How do you feel about that?
KS:
Thank goodness! But I don’t think our customer is overly ladylike. I think it is just a matter of really loving femininity without being stiff about it.

WL: How do you perceive Washington style and how have you tailored the boutique here for the Washington market? Is there a difference?
KS:
I don’t think that there is any difference. Honestly. I mean, I’m from Kansas City. Half of my life was spent there, which is a little more conservative and half my life was spent in New York. So I think I bring the two together. There is a fashion element to it but also a practicality to my designs. I don’t like the idea of buying something and not being able to wear it again next year. It’s how I dress, and I think it’s how people are dressing today.

WL: It has been said that the jack spade line has a Brooks Brothers influence. Washington seems like a very Brooks Brothers town. How have Washingtonians responded to the jack spade line?
KS:
I think very well. I didn’t really know how to design a men’s line, my sensibility doesn’t go that masculine. So it made sense for Andy to do it and he’s not really one of those guys running out and buying these fashion bags. The jack collection is less “fashiony” than the kate collection, and that is because Andy is designing it.

WL: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. How do you feel about all of the kate spade knock-offs sold down the street?
KS:
There is a part of me that accepts it and another part that thinks that it is just wrong. I mean, it is stealing, and I think that if people understood the conditions under which these bag were made, and all of the ramifications, they probably would not buy them.

WL: Speaking of ramifications, the garment industry has been heavily criticized for its use of child labor and sweatshops. How do you ensure it doesn’t happen in your factories?
KS:
We have the strictest guidelines for anyone we work with, and have people regularly visiting the factories.

WL: So then you have independent monitors to be absolutely sure of this?
KS:
No, but within our office we have an in-house council and people that are in charge of production that are in and out of the factories. You do what you can.

 



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