She’s the best friend of the cool girl you never went to high school with. The uptown New York kid with the slick vinyl backpack and matching branded wallet.
(And not that you weren’t killing it in your hiking pack with built-in bottle holder –- hey, the Myer sale section had its limits.)
Well Kate Spade has grown up since 1993. She’s now a fully-fledged and supremely chic lifestyle brand, and she’s finally bringing her colorful slice of the Big Apple to Melbourne’s Emporium shopping centre.
Inside is everything you could hope to haul from a Spade wardrobe raid. You’re familiar with the bags by sight at least – that piano key clutch was just made for Instagram’s like button. And her slick range of eyewear proves there’s no late night a perfect cat eye frame can’t fix.
On top of her graphically modish new ready-to-wear there’s also jewellery, shoes, and the quippiest iPad cases south of the hemisphere. “Your Pad or Mine?” sounds far cuter in patent faux leather.
The Spade aesthetic continues with monochromatic chevron floors, a brass storefront, custom sputnik nights, and fitting rooms with customisable backdrops you can change out when snapping selfies.
Get serious about those glasses though. Summer’s looking brighter already.
Kate Spade
Emporium Melbourne, 287 Lonsdale St, VIC 3000
www.katespade.com