a spade is a spade: my thoughts on the new direction of kate spade new york
today is the day!
today is the first day of the official redesign of one of my favorite (if not my most favorite) brands! early last year it was announced that nicola glass would be replacing deborah lloyd as creative director of kate spade. while i know anyone who follows me knows i am a kate spade fanatic (and former employee) and that i’ve have always loved the brand, i knew it was time to take the brand into the next stage of its life. when nicola’s first collection first hit the runway last fashion week, i will be honest, there were pieces that i loved…and some, not so much. was this redesign too drastic for the kate spade customer? was it going to stray too far from the whimsical brand i once knew? i had to wait and see it for myself in person before i came to any conclusions.
a few weeks ago, i was getting alerted by susan that nicola’s collection was starting to make its way into the stores and i couldn’t wait any longer to finally put my hands on the products. i ran to the madison avenue flagship as soon as i could and i was truly blown away. i found myself completely loving some of the pieces i was initially hesitant about on the runway and i had a huge sense of relief! the prints were the perfect balance between femininity and modernity that are going to take kate spade to the next generation of shoppers. the collection, and rebranding in general, gives me major vintage/70’s vibes with a pinch of freshness and miu miu attitude thrown in there…you know, without the miu miu price tag! nicola harvested what made kate spade wonderful and relatable and parlayed that into her first collection all while making it luxurious, feminine, playful and modern.
rebranding for any brand is almost inevitable at some point in its life and i just hope the past customers of kate spade come to realize this. as the brand has been rolling out some sneak peeks of the launch this past week, the negative comments on the brand’s instagram page stood out to me. words like “disappointing” and “ruined” jumped off of the screen and it made me sad that people had such little optimism about the rebrand. did they really think kate spade could stay exactly the same for the rest of eternity!? i know that this is the right next step for kate spade.
while i’m not going to sit here and say i would want every single piece of the collection, because that would be unrealistic, i can honestly say i appreciate every single piece and their craftsmanship. nicola’s first collection was an incredible launching pad for what big things are to come from this british visionary!
check out more of my favorite pieces from the launch below!
photos of me by lydia hudgens