1993
Six bags
The first collection offered six essential handbags, including the boxy Sam. It proposed a crisp, practical alternative to more ornate accessories.
The House & Its Designers
Kate Spade New York
New York · 1993
A clear handbag shape, followed by a world of colour and wit.
Kate Spade New York began with a small collection of handbags. Clean silhouettes, useful proportions and a playful approach to colour became the basis of a much wider accessories and lifestyle brand.
2 photographs · Reviewed August 2026
Explore the history ↓
01 / The house
The story behind the name.
The identity
A graphic point of view
Colour, contrasting trims and carefully placed details gave the bags a recognisable personality. Novelty designs later made room for humour without replacing the everyday collection.
The legacy
Beyond the founder
Kate Spade’s original approach remains visible in the brand’s useful shapes and cheerful details. Later collections revisit those ideas through new materials and proportions.
02 / The designers
The people who shaped the house.
Selected creative chapters; dates distinguish appointments from runway debuts.
Co-founder
Kate Brosnahan Spade
Established a handbag vocabulary built on clarity, colour and everyday function.
Later collections
The design studio
Reinterprets the founding shapes alongside playful seasonal accessories.
03 / The bags
A vocabulary in leather and form.
A selection of the house’s designs. Resale photographs illustrate individual examples; size, finish and condition vary.
01
Knott
Knotted side details give this leather day-bag family its name.
02
Manhattan
A boxy tote with a broad opening and practical day-bag proportions.
More designs to know
- Sam Icon
- A box-shaped shoulder bag that returns to the geometry of Kate Spade’s early Sam.
- Margaux
- A structured pebbled-leather family with multiple carrying options.
- Madison
- A polished leather-bag family with restrained branding.
- Lady Bag
- A compact, structured top-handle style.
- Brixton
- A leather day-bag style with a practical, understated silhouette.