– Fashion legacy. What does it take to create one of the most iconic and enduring brands in American fashion? For Elyce Arons, it took an unshakeable work ethic, a best friendship with one of fashion’s ultimate tastemakers, and a little bit of kismet.

Now the CEO of Frances Valentine, a colorful luxury handbag and fashion brand, Arons first came to prominence in the industry after cofounding Kate Spade with Pamela Bell, Andy Spade, and the company’s namesake and Arons’s aforementioned best friend, Katy. Arons reflects on meeting Katy in their dorm at the University of Kansas, the start of both of their careers in New York in the late 1980s, launching Kate Spade, and much more in her new memoir, We Might Just Make It After All, published this week. 

Courtesy of Elyce Arons and Frances Valentine

Of course, Arons’s book also addresses Spade’s tragic death in 2018, a loss that sent the fashion world reeling and still reverberates throughout Arons’s life (the duo also cofounded Frances Valentine together). But it is a credit to Arons’s writing, and the lives both women led, that her book is focused on the humor, risk-taking, and beauty at the heart of the story of the fledgling artists and entrepreneurs striking out on their own. Readers will learn about all of the work that went into creating the multibillion-dollar company; the ups and downs, the disagreements and the serendipity. And they’ll gain a fuller picture of the Katy behind Kate Spade: the introvert, the genius, and the best friend.

“I want her legacy to be remembered in this beautiful, positive way, because she was an amazing person,” Arons told me in a Zoom interview last month.

Beyond the personal relationships detailed, Arons’s book also made me nostalgic for the New York of the 1990s and early 2000s, when a group of friends with a little industry know-how, a wealth of creativity, and a ton of moxie could create one of the most well-known and regarded brands in fashion. New York was gritty, Arons writes, but it was teeming with magic and possibility for countless people—exactly what their brand epitomized. A Kate Spade bag was more affordable than other luxury brands, but still tasteful and chic. It became many young professionals’ first big purchase, “a rite of passage for generations of women,” a symbol of independence. Exactly what you’d expect from women like Arons and Spade.

One of Kate Spade the company’s early keys to success, Arons writes, is that the team tried to create a welcoming environment and only hire people they enjoyed being around. She finds that advice still holds true as the boss of another company, while telling recent grads—and more recently, her own daughters as they’ve entered the workforce—to get to work early and stay late. Both employees and employers should feel that they are contributing to the whole and be proud of the company they’re working for, she says.

“You’re spending most of your time at your job, yeah? It should be fun, and it should be pleasant, and you shouldn’t feel bad about your job, or making a mistake,” Arons told me. “Just do your best. People don’t care if you don’t know how to do something, but learn how to get it done.”

Alicia Adamczyk
alicia.adamczyk@fortune.com

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• U.S. stocks rose Monday despite escalating attacks between Israel and Iran. The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all ended higher after falling Friday. The price of crude oil also fell almost 2% after a report claimed Iran is looking to negotiate with Israel to end the conflict.

Despite several confrontations between Israel and Iran over the weekend and on Monday that have left hundreds of civilians dead, investors in the U.S. seemed to shrug off the escalating tensions in the Middle East as stocks rebounded to start the week.

In fact, after falling Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.75% higher Monday, while the S&P 500 increased 0.94%, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.52%.

Jeff Buchbinder, chief equity strategist for LPL Financial, says the U.S. market is holding up well due to a confluence of factors, including that both Iran and Israel have an “interest in keeping the conflict contained.”

“There are several key questions to answer before we know how stocks will handle this geopolitical shock, including how much of Iran’s energy infrastructure will be impaired and for how long, whether Iran’s nuclear capabilities will be completely wiped out, and whether the current regime will remain in power,” says Buchbinder.

Though U.S. crude oil surged Friday following Israel’s initial attack, it fell almost 2% Monday, after The Wall Street Journal reported that Iran wants to negotiate an end to the conflict with Israel. That said, the two countries continued to attack each others’ energy facilities Monday, and Israel struck the headquarters of Iran’s state television live on air.

The conflict in the Middle East is adding yet another layer of uncertainty to the economy, in a time when President Donald Trump’s tariff policies are causing concern, as are the White House’s immigration policies and the GOP tax bill.

Investors will also be watching the Federal Reserve meeting this week. Though officials have signaled a hold on interest rates is likely, all eyes will on on Chair Jerome Powell for information on when the central bank could move.

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