The Kate Spade Only I Knew

SEVEN YEARS AFTER THE DESIGNER'S TRAGIC DEATH, HER BEST FRIEND SHARES THE STORY OF THEIR BEAUTIFUL BOND—AND HER 'UNFATHOMABLE' LOSS—IN A NEW MEMOIR

- By LIZ MCNEIL

If handed a crystal ball, Elyce Arons could never have foreseen what the future would hold for her and her stylish best friend Kate Spade. With no connections and not much cash, they launched a handbag line. Before long, celebs like Gwyneth Paltrow and Sandra Bullock were carrying the chic minimalist bags that became a '90s phenomenon and, over time, a billion-dollar company. “Like some impossibly crazy Hollywood production dreamed up by a team of screenwriters,” says Arons, 62. “We went for it.”

In 2016 the two launched Frances Valentine, a line of colorful accessories and clothing, and talked about growing old together. Two years later, on June 5, 2018, Spade, who'd privately struggled with depression, died by suicide in her Park Avenue apartment at age 55, leaving behind her husband, Andy (the couple were living separately at the time), and their daughter Frances Beatrix, then 13. “It was a total shock to all of us,” says Arons. “She had always told Andy and me when someone [famous] took their own life, ‘I would never do that.’”

Seven years after the loss, Arons has written a poignant memoir of their friendship: We Might Just Make It After All. The process was cathartic, she says. “I wanted and needed to tell the story because so many people remember Katy for how she left us—and not about her life.” In this excerpt Arons shares memories of her beloved friend. On June 9, 2018, four days after my best friend of thirty-seven years took her own life, I had to go to her Park Avenue apartment to pick up some of my clothes from her closet. As soon as I walked in, I felt on edge. Katy usually left every light on 24/7 and kept her drapes tied open. Since her death, paparazzi had been stationed outside. For privacy, someone had closed the drapes and turned off the lights.