Behind Kate Spade’s bright and whimsical aesthetic are the company’s extensive efforts to address the global issue of mental health.
The stars of Kate Spade’s current Autumn 2024 campaign—Taraji P. Henson, Nicola Coughan and Marsai Martin—are not just promoting the Kate Spade Flower Jacquard bag this season, but also mental health for women.
Kate Spade New York is the go-to brand of women who want to add a dash of fun to their day-to-day. It’s a brand that knows how bags—printed with polka dots or metallic leopard patterns, or those made to look like a boombox, typewriter, or a basket of strawberries—can spark joy among fashionistas.
While the brand is known for its bright and whimsical aesthetic, Kate Spade firmly believes that joy “has deeper roots and greater meaning” than just owning color-pop handbags and accessories. For the accessible luxury retailer, joy is not just a fleeting emotion but an essential tool in improving one’s mental health and overall wellbeing.
It’s a philosophy that the company has been investing in since its founder’s death six years ago. Fashion editor and designer Kate Brosnahan Spade died on June 5, 2018, 25 years after launching her iconic brand with her husband Andy in January 1993. The celebrated designer died of apparent suicide in her New York apartment. She was 55 years old.
Her passing shocked fans, friends, and the fashion community. And for the Kate Spade brand, there was no better thing to do than face what happened head-on. “It happened, and there’s no hiding from it,” CEO and brand president Liz Fraser said in an interview with Fortune
Today, Kate Spade is one of the largest corporate funders of women’s mental health globally, with an investment totaling $31 million to date.
Kate Spade’s Global Fund for Women’s Mental Health
Last September, Kate Spade launched its Global Fund for Women’s Mental Health campaign, which aims to cultivate “greater access to joy by advocating for and investing in mental health solutions for women around the globe.”
Global Fund for Mental Health was launched alongside Kate Spade’s Fall 2024 campaign which features Henson and fellow actresses Nicola Coughan (Bridgerton) and Marsai Martin (Black-ish). It was announced through a short film first released during Kate Spade’s third annual Global Summit on Women’s Mental Health and features all three celebrities.
Related story: Kate Spade launches Fall 2024 campaign
“While we are proud of the work we have done thus far, there is much more to be done, and we can’t do it alone. We are thrilled to debut our short film with Taraji, Nicola, and Marsai that introduces the Global Fund for Women’s Mental Health and marks a new milestone in our journey, as we invite others to join us in our mission,” Bird said at the event.
Apart from premiering Kate Spade’s Global Fund for Women’s Health short film, the brand’s mental health conference in September comprised discussions on various topics, including the fashion industry’s effect on women’s mental health, how to cultivate recovery in the aftermath of trauma, as well as women’s mental health in perimenopause and menopause.
Celebrities who are also mental health advocates shared insights about mental well-being. This includes American gymnastics superstar Simon Biles, who said that mental health has been playing a “huge role” in her life, especially after competing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. “I had to really be in tune with my mind and body, start seeing a proper therapist, and get that extra help so that I could perform to the best of my ability” she recounted.
“Mental health comes in all shapes, sizes, and forms. Everybody’s journey is different,” she added. “If anybody is going through a mental health journey, I support you. Everyone’s journey is unique, and I’ll be with you every step of the way.”
Meanwhile, Martin and fellow actress Sofia Wylie (High School Musical: The Series) took part in the discussion about combating loneliness and creating community among girls and the youth. Henson was also among the panel who talked about “planting seeds, growing our impact, building resilience and cultivating joy.”
On Purpose collection
Owned by Coach’s Tapestry since 2017, Kate Spade has been exerting considerable efforts in fighting women’s mental health crisis globally. A year after its founder’s death, Kate Spade pledged $1 million to support mental health services through the Jed Foundation, which helps provide 24/7 crisis support in North America, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.
Its biggest investment so far is its “On Purpose” collection. The lineup features handbags manufactured by an African facility called Abahizi Rwanda which supports women dealing with generational trauma. It’s been part of the brand’s offerings since 2014.
Kate Spade ramped up its efforts when the COVID-19 pandemic caused widespread psychiatric distress worldwide from 2020 to 2021. At that time, the brand launched its own set of non-medical masks and gave its profits and donations — totaling more than $190,000 — to 24/7 crisis intervention services in the US and UK. It was also in that year’s World Mental Health Day that Kate Spade launched a co-branded text-based mental help support service with the Crisis Text Line and Kids Help Phone.
Last March, Kate Spade collaborated with Henson and her Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation. Together, the luxury retailer and the actress launched a collection of shirts, with 100 percent of profits donated to mental healthcare programs for Black women and girls.
Kate Spade believes that with good mental health, women are able to expand their choices, strengthen their voices, and have complete power over their own lives and futures. So besides launching projects such as its Global Summit and Global Fund for Women’s Health, the luxury fashion brand partnered with the Mental Health Coalition to create resources for everyone who needs to know more about mental health. (Read them here.)
Banner photo from Thomas Iannaccone/Penske Media/REX/Shutterstock via CNN.
