We Made it After All: Kate Spade's Induction to ASU's Alumni Hall of Fame

By Kain WJ White

PHOENIX— Arizona State University honored the co-founders of the global lifestyle brand Kate Spade with induction into the Alumni Hall of Fame on Tuesday evening.

The ceremony was not only a prestigious honor for the inductees, but also a time for remembering the legacy of Kate Spade, who passed away in 2018. 

Elyce Arons,  Kate Spade co-founder and a decades-long best friend of Kate, accepted her own award in the First Amendment Forum while Andy Spade, husband and business partner of Kate Spade, accepted the award on her behalf.

“She was the most special person,” Spade said. “She touched us all.”

Aron has used her brand and work to keep the memory of Spade alive and honor her. 

“You know, I hear her in my ear every single day,” Arons said. “When we’re working on different designs, I look at it and think, would she like that color yellow? Would Katie like this? Would she wear this skirt? What would she pair it with? She is always in my head.”

After her passing, Arons also created the “Love Katie Collection,” which was centered around sentimental pieces that were worn by Spade and were important to Arons.

“One of the things that I wanted to do as a tribute to her was make something special,” Arons said. “I feel like Katie’s still with me doing it because a lot of them were her vintage pieces and things we’ve collected together over the years.”

The loss of Spade has heavily impacted her loved ones, the fashion industry and students at Walter Cronkite.

Student Mia Osmonbekov did not initially plan to attend the event but found herself drawn to it because of its bittersweet nature, even taking the opportunity to ask Arons how she managed to honor and make space for her grief.

For Arons, the answer came in her book “We Might Just Make it After All”, a story of her history and friendship with Spade, she began working on five years after losing her.

“I don't think I had really dealt with it for a long period of time until I worked on this book,” Arons said. 

 At first, Arons said she thought writing it would be difficult, but it ended up helping her deal with her grief.

“It was actually one of the best things I could have ever done, because I remembered all 

the good times we had and all the high points, and it helped me focus on her life and not on how she left us,” Aron said.

The title of the book is actually a reference to a shared inspiration of Arons’ and Spade’s; 

a play on the lyrics, “You’re gonna make it after all!” from “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”

Arons said that Mary Richards was the main character in the show and “was the first woman to have a job in the male-dominated field of journalism.”

This want, and the inspiration of the character, is what led Arons and Spade to pursue journalism and come to ASU.

“What Kate and I had when we got to ASU were two beat-up cars and big dreams,” Arons said.

When speaking of his late wife, Spade said what she learned at the Cronkite School and how those skills translated to her remarkable career in fashion. 

Arons echoed this sentiment later, emphasizing how special the school was to her and still is.

“To be connected to the Walter Cronkite name, a name synonymous with integrity and trust, is an incredible thrill for me,” Arons said.

The enjoyment of her time here was not without its hardships, as much of it was spent working waitress jobs to pay tuition and make ends meet. Arons now views it as the best time of her life. 

“There were so many struggles, but you look back, and you think those were the best times of all, when we didn’t have any money,” Arons said.

Osmonbekov, who is reaching the end of her academic career, was touched by this moment and said she felt reflective of her own struggles during her years at ASU.

“The feeling of really struggling, you’re working on something, then as time goes on, you look back at that period of time like wow, literally losing your mind becomes special over time,” Osmonbekov said.

When asked by Dean Jessica Pucci about whether Spade and Arons felt as if they had made it, Arons recalled three specific moments.

First was when Barney’s placed their first order with them, second was when Spade won the Council of Fashion Designers Association Award for new talent in fashion design and third was when Vogue Magazine came to shoot them at the office.

Arons and Spade have not only accomplished many things over their career, but also have been a source of pride for students.

Pucci said that she was in the same sorority during her time at the school that Spade was once a part of and how important that was to her and her sorority sisters.

“I remember when I was a new member, we were so overwhelmed with pride to be able to say, ‘well, we’re in the same sorority as Kate Spade,’” Pucci said.

Arons credits much of her journey to her time as a journalism student at Cronkite, and just like Andy Spade said of Kate Spade, Arons took similar lessons and skills from her time here.

“Journalism is a fantastic training for life,” Arons said. “You learn how to listen; you learn how to read the room and to pivot when the story changes.”

In speaking of the two newest Hall of Fame Alumnae, Dean Battinto Batts said that both women have carried the Cronkite spirit with them long after their graduation in 1986.

“No matter where their careers have taken them, they continue to embody the highest standards and values instilled right here at the Cronkite School,” Batts said.

For Osmonbekov, she said she felt like Arons provided her with a valuable lesson.

“The most difficult years kind of become beautiful in retrospect,” Osmonbekov said. “Not to romanticize that too much, but also once you do it, those years do become like wow, I’m glad I believed in my vision, in my instinct.”

Before the closing of the ceremony, Arons offered some advice to the students in attendance: “To any students here tonight, it's okay if you don't know what you want to do in five years, I certainly didn't,” Arons said.

Arons and Spade show that times of uncertainty will one day lead to clarity, and like them, others might just make it after all.