Kate Spade New York was founded in 1993 by Katherine Noel Brosnahan and her husband/business partner Andy Spade. Kate Spade New York started after a suggestion from Andy when Katherine wasn't sure about her next career move after logging six years at Mademoiselle. Originally, the business started out with the Sam handbag and was only making colorful lively bags for consumers. Eventually, Andy withdrew $35,000 from his 401K account to fund the production of Kate's handbags. Her debut line infused classic shapes, colors and fabrics into a now iconic square bag with a little black label sewn to the outside of the bag that said “Kate Spade New York.” Their main target market at this time was the upper middle class. In June 2018, Kate Spade committed suicide in her Manhattan apartment and the company announced to donate $1 million for mental health awareness cause, starting with a $250,000 donation to Crisis Text Line.