Kate Spade’s best friend remembers the late designer’s immense charm and secret sadness in new book: ‘She felt things more deeply than most’

Seven years on, Elyce Arons still misses Kate Spade.

The 2 pals met successful assemblage astatine nan University of Kansas and remained kindred spirits for astir 40 years. Together, they helped motorboat Kate Spade New York successful nan 1990s and had precocious started a caller accessories brand, Frances Valentine, erstwhile Spade took her ain life successful 2018, astatine nan property of 55.

“I deliberation of her each day,” Arons told The Post. “I still get choked up talking astir her.”

Spade’s decease 7 years agone shocked nan manner industry. Her cheery, colorful designs made group smile, and she seemed to person a picture-perfect life, pinch a creative, supportive hubby and girl who adored her.

In her caller book, “We Just Might Make It After All” (Gallery Books, June 17), Arons writes that Spade had suffered from slump successful nan months starring up to her death. The 2 said astir it and had moreover “discussed nan suicides of celebrities successful nan past and [Katy] had said definitively to me, ‘I would never, ever do that.’”

Arons besides writes that Spade “worshiped her daughter” and that she and hubby Andy Spade were “working retired their matrimony issues and surviving separately” but that they “loved each different to nan ends of nan earth.”

“She was backstage astir galore things, moreover pinch me,” she writes. “A highly delicate person, she felt things much profoundly than most. … We each person acheronian moments and periods. In 1 of those moments, she mislaid hope.”

Arons’ charming and effervescent memoir depicts nan beloved manner designer arsenic a fierce friend and driven worker whose aggravated charisma belied an unthinkable shyness.

She laughed erstwhile her tulle dress caught occurrence during her wedding reception (the guests dumped their drinks connected it to extinguish nan flames), mislaid nan headdress of her bony erstwhile climbing a character earlier a large gathering pinch nan Esteé Lauder Company, and played pranks connected her friends.

She was, successful short, a delight.

“I consciousness for illustration truthful galore group retrieve really she near us, and I want them to retrieve really she lived,” Arons said. “She was specified a talented person, of course, but specified an astonishing friend.

“She was loyal. She had awesome values. She was authentic. And I cognize a batch of group thought of her arsenic a woman adjacent doorway … but she was nan clever woman adjacent door.”

Arons and Katy Brosnahan — later known arsenic Kate Spade aft she launched her eponymous marque and later joined Andy Space — first met successful 1981.

It was freshman move-in time astatine nan University of Kansas. Arons arrived from her parents’ cattle workplace successful Sedgwick, Kan., successful “purple parachute pants and scrunched greenish leather pointy-toed boots.” Spade — who had gone to a backstage all-girls Catholic schoolhouse successful Kansas City — sported khaki shorts, a polo garment pinch a popped collar and Weejun loafers. 

“I looked astatine her and I thought, ‘Oh my god, she’s boring,’” Arons admitted.

But aft they discovered they were some financial-aid students studying publicity (due to a communal obsession pinch Mary Tyler Moore) they bonded. One night, while smoking Virginia Slims extracurricular a party, they divulged their family secrets to each other. Arons cried arsenic she recalled losing her older sister to bony crab astatine 9 years old, and Spade recounted nan symptom of her parents’ divorcement erstwhile she was nan aforesaid age.

“To stock that tragedy, finally, pinch personification who understood was a large deal,” Arons said. 

“That was nan infinitesimal I knew I had a friend for life.”

The 2 partied, shopped vintage and studied together. When Spade decided to transportation to Arizona State University — adjacent wherever her older sister lived — Arons followed her. 

“We talked each different into worldly truthful easily,” Arons said. “It was for illustration we were attached astatine nan hip.”

Later, successful New York City, Arons worked successful manner PR while Spade was a manner and accessories editor astatine Mademoiselle. Spade noticed a deficiency of bully handbag options for nan shoots she styled. 

So she decided to create her own.

“Coach existed, but it felt for illustration an aged accepted leather handbag institution and it wasn’t aspirational astatine all,” Arons said. “Katy saw this void successful nan marketplace [for a] functional container that a female could really usage and that really accessorized her outfit and made her consciousness great. That was nan brilliance of it.”

Arons, Spade, Andy and different friend, Pamela Bell, launched Kate Spade New York successful 1990. Spade spent her days creating prototypes retired of cardboard connected nan level of her and Andy’s Soho loft, while nan others worked nights and weekends to hatch their business plans. 

Two days earlier debuting their bags astatine nan large accessories waste and acquisition show successful Manhattan, Spade decided she wanted their discreet labels sewn connected nan extracurricular of their vinyl and burlap bags alternatively of nan inside. She, Arons and Bell spent 3 hours hand-stitching these strips of cloth onto their samples until their fingers bled. But it worked. Barneys and Charivari placed orders. Soon, Saks started carrying them, too.

As nan business expanded, their lives changed, too. Katy and Andy sewage joined successful 1994. In 1999, Neiman Marcus acquired a 56 percent liking successful nan brand. 

Despite Spade’s magnetism she was very shy. Interviews and nationalist speaking made her anxious. Yet, arsenic nan marque grew, truthful did her fame. When Kate Spade launched a fragrance successful 2002, Spade had to recreation crossed nan state to beforehand it, often alone. 

“That was very difficult for her,” Arons said. “Every azygous day, a different metropolis by herself. And it wasn’t conscionable that she had to speak to group and travel up pinch thing clever, but she had to look bully … It was conscionable a batch of pressure.”

Their relationship had its ups and downs. “I had my worst fights pinch her,” Arons recalled. “But 1 of america ever called backmost later and apologized.” 

When Arons had her first child, she named her Katy, and asked nan Spades to beryllium her godparents. They enjoyed playing pranks connected 1 another. Arons remembers 1 clip that Katy sewage a elephantine rubber rat and put it successful nan room descend for Arons to find. “That frightened nan heck retired of me!” Arons recalled pinch a laugh.

In 2006, nan Spades, Arons, and Bell sold nan institution to Liz Clairborne. Arons and Spade still perpetually talked astir activity and fashion, however. They came up pinch nan thought for Frances Valentine aft Arons recovered a brace of orangish patent leather pumps she wanted, but balked astatine nan $1200 value tag. 

“I thought, ‘We tin do this for $398, and it would beryllium really awesome quality,’” Arons recalled. The 2 launched Frances Valentine (named aft Spade’s daughter) successful 2016 arsenic a footwear and handbag line.

“We were some doing everything,” Arons said. “It was a blast. It conscionable felt bully to beryllium backmost and person nan societal life astatine nan agency again … And we were beautiful overmuch conscionable taking off, and that’s erstwhile we mislaid Katy.”

After her friend’s death, Frances Valentine released a typical constricted postulation of 2 vintage pieces from Katy’s wardrobe: a light-blue accepted Mexican caftan she wore connected vacations and a saccharine cable-knit sweater festooned pinch agleam embroidered flowers. “We called it our Love Katy collection, and our customers went crazy,” Arons said. “They sold retired immediately, truthful we made them again, and they sold retired again, and again.”

Now, Frances Valentine has a afloat apparel collection, which makes up 60% of nan brand’s business. Nearly each nan pieces are based connected items that Spade and Arons picked up connected their thrifting adventures and treasured. 

It’s a measurement for her to enactment connected pinch her champion friend.

“I deliberation astir her each nan time, particularly erstwhile I’m steaming thing that cipher other notices needs steaming,” Arons said. 

“Our relationship was truthful special,” she added. “Maybe group get that erstwhile successful a lifetime.”

If you are struggling pinch suicidal thoughts aliases are experiencing a intelligence wellness situation and unrecorded successful New York City, you tin telephone 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential situation counseling. If you unrecorded extracurricular nan 5 boroughs, you tin dial nan 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline astatine 988 aliases spell to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.