A Peek Inside the Kate Spade Pop-Up Apartment Across the Pond

LONDON–Ask any 20-something about her first handbag memory, and chances are it involves Kate Spade. That bright polka dot or stripe-printed canvas! Those simple shapes! And most of all, that small black label (!) cued covetousness in many a suburban middle school girl (not to mention a slew of Canal Street searches, but…that was before we knew it was wrong).

Lately, the brand has been striding back to prominence with fashion and lifestyle shops across the US, and its latest move is a ‘pop-up apartment’ in London’s Covent Garden. The Kate Spade team conjured a dream home for its gal-about-town muse, complete with gorgeous clothes, accessories and objets.

It’s full of Spade-y signatures and clever decorative touches, such as wallpaper-backed closet doors, crisp, grass-green walls, a painted black-and-white floral “rug” and some rather glorious mid-century modern furniture.

Naturally, there’s a handbag wall, and those closets are chockablock with the latest collection. It’s all very vintage-feeling, with a pitch-perfect faux fur leopard print chubby (note the black velvet bow in the back) and something called the June dress, a box-pleated 50s prom dress in a red, gray and salmon balloon print exclusive to the London store. The attention to detail makes these clothes sing.

“Some people already know her, but we wanted everyone in London to have a chance to meet our Kate Spade girl,” said Deborah Lloyd, president and chief creative officer for the brand.

So, Kate: need a roommate?

The kate spade new york ‘pop-up apartment’ is open from today to 10 November at 7 Henrietta Street, WC2E 8PW
Click through for more photos of Kate Spade’s amazing London apartment and products from the London line.