Like his good friend Glenn O’ Brien, Andy Spade, a talented creative director, gallerist, publisher, filmmaker and artist, is one of the few genuine polymaths working today. Despite his many disciplines, Spade manages to infuse a trademark sense of
"I found this straw hat at a farmers’ market in Sonoma, California. The only other people I'd seen wearing it before were the workers in the vineyards. I’d always assumed the hat was from Mexico because most of the vineyard labourers are Mexican. It turns out the hat is from Ghana, Africa. It is handmade and comes only in ‘natural’ with a variety of colours striped on the brim and base of the hat.
This particular picture was taken on location last week while on a shoot for the American tennis brand Boast. We couldn't afford a stylist so we mixed the Boast shirts up with things from our own closets. The girl in the picture is the daughter of one of our best friends. My wife and I have known her since she was born.
I've had the hat for four years and it keeps getting better with age. It's been in the ocean and the pool several times, yet refuses to be destroyed. The shape only improved with weathering. I bought several for my storefront in NYC, but it felt like a fish out of water in the city. It cries out for the California coastline and the arid deserts of Africa."
Like his good friend Glenn O’ Brien, Andy Spade, a talented creative director, gallerist, publisher, filmmaker and artist, is one of the few genuine polymaths working today. Despite his many disciplines, Spade manages to infuse a trademark sense of wit and the unexpected into everything he does. Alongside his wife, he created the Kate Spade brand and its ultra preppy brother, Jack Spade, and is also the co-founder of the brand consultancy firm Partners and Spade with art director Anthony Sperduti. True to his restless, inquisitive spirit, his beautiful storefront on Great Jones Street in Manhattan’s NoHo district is an ever-evolving space – equal parts boutique, gallery and ad agency selling such curios as a self-sustaining terrarium, a burglary kit by Matt Lenski, and an antique boxing speed bag under glass. Past happenings at the store have included a “dissertation on white noise” by Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore, an “avant garde preschool” of 8-12 year olds, exhibitions curated by Surface to Air’s Gordon Hull and Paper Magazine’s Kim Hastreiter, and a pop-up bakery installed by the artist Will Cotton. Next up, it’s Yoko Ono’s turn, who on September 15 will host a one-off Fluxus event at the store to celebrate her new book, Fly Me.
