Kate Spade New York x Target Looks to Bring Affordable Style and Joyful Living to Spring

With an eye on celebrating life’s big and small moments, Kate Spade New York has teamed up with Target for its largest limited-time collection.

The Kate Spade New York x Target collaboration features fashion, home and entertaining essentials, which look to turn everyday moments into celebratory occasions.

Launching April 12, the collection features more than 300 items, including women’s, kids’ and baby apparel (with extended sizing and adaptive styles), handbags, home accessories and entertaining must-haves. The collection is inspired by the idea that any day can become a reason to celebrate, and guests will find an assortment featuring a crisp color palette, a fresh take on nostalgic patterns and a classic Kate Spade twist, all at accessible prices.

More than half of the collection is available for $15 or under, with prices starting at $5. Handbags are $50 and under.

“With versatile pieces that work for every occasion and can’t-miss prices, this partnership brings together Kate Spade’s signature style with Target’s legacy of making the best design accessible to all,” said Jill Sando, Target’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer, apparel and accessories, home and hardlines. “Our teams worked together for two years to create this collection, and I can’t wait for consumers to see everything we have to offer. It’s stylish, affordable and loaded with items that’ll add plenty of joy to everyday moments.”

Kate Spade, which was founded in 1993, is known for its whimsical and spirited approach to fashion and accessories. The brand is a division of Tapestry Inc.

“Kate Spade New York has always been rooted in joy,” said Charlotte Warshaw, vice president, Americas wholesale, global licensing and collaborations of Kate Spade New York. “This iconic collaboration with Target does just that. We’re excited for customers across generations to experience a little piece of the magic we’ve created together.

“This limited-time-only collaboration has been years in the making, and we could not be more excited to see it come to life — both for our longtime customers and for new customers who have the chance to engage with our brand through this unique Target collection,” Warshaw added. “The collection embodies Kate Spade New York’s signature spirit and aesthetic, while emphasizing the brand’s lifestyle positioning. It celebrates everyday moments and enables us to play in new categories for the spring entertainment season. The collection spans women’s, kids’ and home products with a unique confidence, ease and a personality of purpose.”

According to Sando, at Target’s financial community meeting in March 2024 they shared their focus in creating today’s “Tarjay.” She said these partnerships are a key way to offer style, quality and on-trend and affordable products presented in a compelling and connected shopping experience. It is an important component of their strategic plan to deliver more than $15 billion of growth by 2030, she said. She said national brand partnerships and emerging designers are some examples. 

Target recently revealed partnerships with Champion and Warby Parker, and these limited-time only collaborations such as Kate Spade New York continue to draw buzz for Target. The Diane von Furstenberg limited-edition collection, which featured 200 pieces spanning women’s, girls’ and baby apparel and accessories including extended sizing and adaptive styles for kids, home decor and beauty offerings, brought millions of unique visitors to the site, and they saw a 15 percent increase in basket, Sando said. 

Asked why they chose to partner with Kate Spade New York, Sando said that from a consumer standpoint, she is seeing her consumer continue to respond really well to newness, and consumers have expressed a strong interest in celebrating life’s moments, big and small. “This collection is really designed to bring that sense of joy and sense of celebration to everyday moments,” Sando said.

Kate Spade New York’s signature style is reflected throughout the collection, with an assortment of apparel and accessories for women of all ages, kids and baby. Graphic T-shirts, two-piece sets, tops, shorts, skirts and dresses in a range of silhouettes are designed to be mixed and matched. There are also classic handbags and playful bag charms.

Among the offerings are a women’s tiered ruffle midi tank dress for $50; stripe knit crossbody bag in green/blue for $35; mixed novelty chunky charm bracelet for $15, and a four-piece Melamine dinner plate set in black/cream/green for $12. The collection also includes an eclectic mix of drink and dining ware, colorful party decor such as balloons, hand-drawn cocktail napkins, lanterns and playful games like checkers (as a serving piece) and cornhole. Unexpected items include a disposable camera and a vintage-inspired record player. More expensive items such as a party tent for $200 and a designer bicycle for $300 are also part of the mix.

“The style and value are truly remarkable,” Sando said. On the Zoom, she pointed to the handbags, which Spade is well known for. “All of the handbags are $50 and under,” said Sando, pointing out a strawberry handbag with a pearl trim and bags with charms, “which is a big trend right now that I think our consumers will love.” She said one of the things that they are most excited about is they are doing mommy-and-me items, such as dresses and denim jackets. The women’s denim jacket has pearl buttons and the girls’ jacket has strawberry buttons. Each are $50 and under. Another one of her favorite items is a T-shirt that says, “Champagne and French Fries,” that highlights Kate Spade’s whimsy and playfulness. And in the food category, she loves the almonds that look like olives. 

“The level of detail, the quality and design is what we do in these collaborations,” Sando said. Target has been building these sourcing and design capabilities for more than a decade.

Guests can get an early preview of the collection at New York City’s Grand Central Terminal on Wednesday. Most stores will feature a dedicated shopping space, and there will be an inaugural limited-time offer of store-only items, including a small capsule of Target red handbags and bicycles, among other items.

The collection will be available online to browse and shop on target.com, starting April 12. Same-day pickup will allow guests to shop online and pick up their items in store through Drive Up and Order Pickup. Members of Target Circle 360 can get free same-day delivery on orders more than $35, while all guests can access same-day delivery for a fee.

Since Target’s first collaboration with architect Michael Graves more than 25 years ago, Target has offered affordable collections through limited-time design partnerships. Previous partnerships include Diane von Furstenberg, LoveShackFancy, Cushnie, Lisa Marie Fernandez, Zac Posen, Anna Sui, Rodarte, Missoni, Phillip Lim, Thakoon, Stephen Burrows, Proenza Schouler, Marimekko, Altuzarra, Jason Wu, Lilly Pulitzer, Christopher John Rogers, Alexo, Rixo, Sergio Hudson, La Ligne and Kika Varga.

“As we’ve evolved our approach over time, we continue to get better and better at the quality, design and product level. The capabilities just get more mature,” said Sando, noting that Target manufactures all the products. She said designing the pieces was a very collaborative process between Target and Kate Spade. 

Describing whom they anticipate the customer will be, Sando said, “We think this collection really has broad range. There are people who grew up with Kate Spade like I did, and there are going to be new people who are introduced to the brand who are excited by the color, the print pattern and the incredible value and the style. I think the overarching idea of celebrating life’s moments is so relevant for everyone,” Sando said.

Most of the designer collaborations average six to eight weeks before they sell out.

The line’s success could prove to be a benefit to both Kate Spade and Target.

As reported, Target’s net income for the fourth quarter ended Feb. 1 fell 20.2 percent to $1.1 billion, while sales for the three months slipped 3.1 percent to $30.9 billion, but were up against a year-ago quarter that included an extra week. 

As for Kate Spade, the business saw organic sales drop 10 percent to $416.4 million in the three months ended Dec. 28, according to Tapestry’s financial results. “We had some missteps in our execution clearly, and we’re taking action on those,” said Joanne Crevoiserat, chief executive officer of Tapestry, in February, about Kate Spade. “We have a new CEO [Eva Erdmann] at Kate who is a proven brand builder, but over time we’ve also learned and honed our capabilities. So the brand building principles that we can talk about today are principles that we’ve learned and built over time. We’re much smarter today than we were even four years ago.”