You wouldn’t think that
a fashion designer would
hang out in a surgical theatre,
or that she’d find similarities
between looking at an X-ray
and designing a collection.
But Kate Spade New York’s
artistic director, Nicola Glass,
is full of surprises. An
identical twin, she grew up
in a medical family in
Northern Ireland, but chose
to go to art college to study jewellery design,
teaching herself to make handbags at the
same time. After a detour teaching in the
Philippines, Glass landed accessory design
roles at Gucci and then Michael Kors. She
was given the big job at cult American brand
Kate Spade New York in 2018, overseeing its
first-ever New York Fashion Week catwalk
show last September – only three months
after brand founder Spade’s tragic death
(she had sold her stake in the company in
2006). Since then, Glass has sensitively
overseen a total house revamp, a cool new
look for ready-to-wear, and the launch of
some hit bags – plus fashion editor-
approved boots. Here, she tells us about
why she could never be a doctor, her love for
lilac and a whole lot more...Tell us a bit about your background.
‘I grew up in Northern Ireland and went to
school in Belfast. All my family (apart
from my mum) were radiologists – my dad,
twin sister and brother. But I always liked
making things; art was my favourite
subject. I hated biology.’
And that’s key for a medical career!
‘Yes! But I remember that when I was little,
my dad sometimes used to take us to hospital
with him. Back then, the radiographer would
have to develop the X-rays in a dark room,
and I was intrigued by that. My siblings
loved watching and helping, too, but I guess
I was taking something else from it.’
You were seeing it more from an
artistic, photographic side?
‘Indeed. Years later, I watched my sister
perform a hysterectomy when she was
a junior house officer in Glasgow. Before we
went in [to theatre], we played a trick on her
professor – she sent me in instead and he
didn’t realise! Anyway, seeing her do this
operation, firstly I thought I could never sew
up someone’s body, but I also realised that
she’s really good at it. Nowadays, she does
a lot of nuclear medicine and PET scanning,
which involves having an acute eye for detail,
looking for patterns. So there are some odd
similarities in our jobs.’NICOLA GLASS
FOR KATE SPADE
NEW YORK
STYLE SPOTLIGHT