The Kate Spade baguette bag was one of the most iconic silhouettes of the 1990s. Now, it’s coming back thanks to a partnership with Urban Outfitters.
On Wednesday, Urban Outfitters released a reissued version of the baguette, using three prints pulled from Kate Spade’s archives. The bags are sold in select Urban Outfitters stores and online, priced at just under $200. The limited-edition capsule collection is being promoted with an event curated by artist Anna Ling at Maruchi House in New York featuring the work of artists and designers inspired by Kate Spade.
Vintage and archival pieces are increasingly popular. Just this week, Levi’s released 9Rivet, a reproduction of its oldest jean model from the 1870s, while Wrangler released a vintage line in February. Meanwhile, on the red carpet, celebrities have been wearing both recreations and authentic pieces of archival fashion from decades prior.
The blast from the past is the latest dive into all things vintage and archival for Urban Outfitters, which recently launched a new Vintage + Remade assortment on its online store at the end of April. The fashion industry, buoyed by trends like resale and sustainability, has increasingly been looking backward, finding ways to work vintage and archival pieces and designs into modern collections.
According to Shea Jensen, president at Urban Outfitters, the choice to dig into the archives of an iconic brand like Kate Spade was an obvious one, since “brands hold immense value for our customers, and thus they hold immense value for us.”
“Vintage and vintage-inspired is a rapidly growing category, and it’s an area where Urban Outfitters has long been a leader,” Jensen said. Urban Outfitters has been known for its vintage goods, including vintage iPods last year. “Our customers have a strong affinity for unique, one-of-a-kind pieces that carry a sense of history and individuality. Collaborations like this one bring a nostalgic sensibility to the assortment with the credibility of an iconic brand, complementing the vintage looks our customer is shopping,” Jensen said.
Charlotte Warshaw, vp of Americas wholesale, global licensing and collaborations at Kate Spade, said Urban Outfitters is more than just a selling partner for this drop — it also helped shape which pieces to bring back from the archive.
“We have been brand fans of Urban Outfitters for years and loved collaborating with them on this limited-edition capsule,” said Warshaw. “Together, we hand-selected prints utilizing our brand codes — stripes and dots — from our archive, in addition to a neutral colorway.”
Urban Outfitters is planning additional exclusive vintage drops for the future, Jensen said.
“[These new launches are coming at the right time], especially as our customer is thinking about how they express themselves in new environments as they go back to school,” Jensen said. “[We are] sourcing high-quality vintage items and upcycling deadstock fabrics to create exclusive, customized pieces that you won’t find anywhere else and partnering with emerging artists and established brands who share our connection to the Gen-Z customer.”
Urban Outfitters’ parent company URBN released quarterly revenue figures on Tuesday, showing record revenue of $1.2 billion.
