Kate Spade was the woman who made a di]fference in the world of handbags. But Elyce Arons, her best friend, knew her long before the brand, the awards, and the fame. Now, seven years after losing Kate to suicide, Elyce is finally telling their story and bringing Kate back to life with her words.
In her new memoir, “We Just Might Make It After All,” Elyce shares what it was like to grow up, dream, and build a business with her best friend. From silly pranks and long nights to the pressure that came with fame, she reveals a Kate the world never really saw.
Kate Spade felt exhausted and abandoned
Kate Spade’s former business partner and confidant for nearly 40 years, Elyce Arons, remembers the designer as a force of nature with a curiously reticent streak. In her new memoir, Arons details the peaks, and rare valleys, of their friendship that endured until Spade took her… pic.twitter.com/jWRxHgE6ks
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The friends met in 1981 on move-in day at the University of Kansas. In 1992, Kate left her job with a plan: to create the perfect handbag with Elyce, Andy Spade, her husband, and their friend Pamela Beli. Finally, in 1985, Kate Spade bags took off, and they were rubbing shoulders with fashion giants like Donna Karan and Ralph Lauren. From the outside, it looked like a dream. But Elyce now reveals that there were cracks beneath the surface.
During a solo promotional tour in 2002, Kate called Elyce late at night. She was exhausted. “I know it’s not your fault,” she said. “But I feel abandoned by you. You guys got me into this. You should be here.” It was the first time Kate had opened up about how lonely and overwhelmed she felt. The four co-founders eventually sold the brand completely in 2006. But life got busier. Kate moved uptown, and they saw less of each other. In 2016, they reconnected to launch a new brand, Frances Valentine. Then, in 2018, came the unimaginable.
Kate Spade died in June 2018
Kate died by suicide on June 5, 2018. Four days later, Elyce went to her Park Avenue apartment to pick up some clothes. The normally bright and tidy home was dark and disorganized. She entered the bedroom where Kate had died and felt like her friend might still pop out and scare her as they used to do.
When she opened the closet, moths flew out in a thick cloud. Elyce screamed, half-hoping it was another prank. But there were no tricks this time. Kate was truly gone. Elyce’s memoir shares those memories: the laughs, the wins, the fears they never talked about. She talks about what it means to lose someone who shaped your entire adult life. “All of us who loved her have had to find a way to make peace with her choice,” she writes. “It’s not been easy.”