Kate Spade is going back to basics. Its fall campaign, “Spark Something Beautiful”, launching Tuesday, is built around friendship, optimism and the kind of glossy storytelling that once made the brand a cultural force. Rapper Ice Spice, TikTok influencer Charli D’Amelio, music artist Laufey and model Reign Judge star in the spot, which shows everyday moments transformed when friends come together. “Behind every successful woman is her girlfriends hyping her up in the group chat,” Ice Spice says in the campaign release, summing up the message.
The campaign also represents the first major statement from Eva Erdmann, who joined as CEO and brand president earlier this year. Prior, she spent 11 years at L’Oréal, where she worked across Urban Decay, Lancôme and Yves Saint Laurent Beauté. In her first exclusive interview since taking the role, Erdmann told Glossy she sees Kate Spade as an “underground asset” ready to be repositioned.
“Kate Spade has incredible awareness. But where we need to do better is conversion,” she said. “The plan is to become top of mind, with the right products, the right experiences and the right storytelling.”
At the center of that strategy is the Duo bag, a multiway style retailing for between $295-$495. Worn as a shoulder bag, crossbody, clutch or belt bag, the Duo is designed to be flexible, and scalable. “To build an icon takes time. You invest in inventory and in media, and you keep it exciting season after season,” Erdmann said.
The Duo anchors the “Spark Something Beautiful” campaign, which is rolling out across TikTok and Instagram with a mix of paid, earned and influencer-driven content. The aim, Erdmann said, is not just awareness but also organic conversation.
The icon-first strategy is deliberately rooted in Kate Spade’s past. In the 1990s, the nylon Sam bag became a generational staple and arguably the “it” bag of its time, seen on Gwyneth Paltrow and the Olsen twins, and carried by countless young women as their first piece of luxury. The Sam was rereleased in March in a mini version, available in black, white, yellow and light blue, and priced at $158. The style has allowed Kate Spade to tap into nostalgia while courting new customers with a more accessible price point.
The Sam relaunch was one step in a broader plan. Through 2025, Kate Spade has staged a steady series of activations designed to rebuild relevance.
In April, the Kate Spade and Target collection dropped, featuring more than 300 items across apparel, home and accessories — over half the pieces were priced under $15. The mass collaboration delivered visibility at scale and introduced the brand to a younger, more price-conscious shopper. Around the same time, the brand’s “To The Ones Who Carry Us” campaign celebrated friendship, while promoting the Deco Chain Shoulder Bag in new seasonal colors like Pistachio and Jungle Vine. The campaign starred Charli D’Amelio and Ice Spice and leaned into Gen Z’s appetite for emotional storytelling. Then came the Sam reissue, a reminder of the brand’s archive power. Together, these moves laid the groundwork for fall’s “Spark Something Beautiful”, which raises the stakes with a new icon (the Duo), elevated creativity and a bigger marketing investment, according to the brand.
The backdrop, however, is less rosy. Kate Spade’s sales fell 13% in the most recent quarter. And Tapestry took a non-cash impairment charge of more than $850 million tied to the brand. “At Kate Spade, we expect a modest profit loss given the outsized tariff impacts and brand investments,” CFO Scott Roe said on the company’s earnings call on August 14.
The brand’s guidance for fiscal 2026 points to a high single-digit revenue decline, with modest improvement expected later in the year. For now, Tapestry is shifting resources into Kate Spade, betting that higher marketing spend and a tighter product focus will put the brand back on track.
Erdmann’s approach is to simplify and sharpen. The brand has cut more than 30% of its handbag styles to put muscle behind a smaller number of hero styles. “We’ve also simplified the store experience so the product stories are clearer,” Erdmann said. “And we’re training our teams to give younger customers the space to interact with the brand at their own pace.”
In addition, Kate Spade’s online, outlet and mainline sites have been redesigned to present one cohesive brand message. Promotions, once a crutch, are being scaled back. “If everything is always on promotion, it’s not aspirational,” Erdmann said. “It’s about creating value through quality, functionality and consistency.”
Erdmann is also applying lessons from beauty, where experience and narrative drive loyalty. “Gen Z wants to hang out, touch the product and interact at their own pace,” she said. “The store has to match that expectation.”
Social channels, too, have been recalibrated to focus on conversation rather than broadcast. The brand recently installed oversized 3D “DUO” letterforms on Fifth Avenue to spark buzz around the bag launch.
For Erdmann, the brand’s heritage is an asset. “Thirty years ago, Kate Spade was about sparking small joys and making life feel brighter,” she said. “That’s what Gen Z cares about, too. It’s about connection, optimism and a certain kick of wit. We want to bring that back consistently across everything we do.”
