Best friends Elyce Arons and Kate Spade idolized Mary Tyler Moore.
asserted
friends → idolize → Moore
Because of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” about a plucky single reporter in 1970s Minneapolis, the two bonded, studied journalism and launched two companies: Kate Spade and Frances Valentine, whose colorful, vintage-inflected fashions owe a debt to Moore’s retro threads.
asserted
fashions → bond → threads
“I wanted to be Mary,” Arons tells Alexa.
asserted
Arons → want → Alexa
So, when Moore’s widow, Dr. Robert Levine, reached out to her, she was “on cloud nine.”
asserted
she → reach → cloud
On Sept. 29, Frances Valentine is releasing a limited-edition capsule collection inspired by Moore’s iconic TV characters.
asserted
Valentine → release → characters
Twenty percent of net sales will go to the Mary Tyler Moore Vision Initiative, dedicated to advancing vision research and raising awareness around diabetes-related vision loss (which Moore, who died in 2017, suffered from).
asserted
who → go → 2017
The line includes 14 ready-to-wear styles, plus shoes and bags, all drawn from the actress’ 1960s and ’70s costumes.
asserted
line → include → costumes
Think: turtlenecks, jumpers, peacoats and a pair of cropped cigarette pants which Moore made famous on “The Dick Van Dyke Show.”
asserted
Moore → think → Show
“It’s really good to see those pants in the collection,” Levine says, adding that CBS tried to stop Moore from wearing them.
asserted
CBS → ’ → them
“They were worried about [viewers seeing] the shape of Mary’s tush!”
asserted
viewers → worry → tush
Levine calls his meeting with Arons a “godcidence — a coincidence in which you see the hand of providence.”
asserted
you → call → providence
A colleague had shown him an Instagram post of Arons holding up her 2025 memoir about her friendship with the late Spade, “We Just Might Make It After All,” named after a line from the theme song for “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”
uncertain
We → show → Show
When he first visited the showroom, he noticed how many of Frances Valentine’s offerings “already matched up with Mary’s style,” he says.
asserted
he → visit → style
He invited the design team to his Greenwich, Conn., home to view Moore’s collection of Armani suits and couture Scaasi gowns.
asserted
He → invite → suits
“Robert pushed a button, and her closet opened up,” Arons recalls.
asserted
Arons → push → button
“I was nervous about even touching them!”
asserted
I → touch → them
But Levine insisted she try them on.
asserted
she → insist → them
“I felt like a princess,” she says.
asserted
she → feel → princess
Arons examined the collection, rewatched Moore’s shows and scoured awards show photos looking for pieces that she could reinterpret, including the famous tam hat from the opening credits of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”
“The hat took about three or four different samples to make sure we got it right,” Arons says.
uncertain
Arons → examine → samples
Levine gave it — and several other Moore ensembles — to Arons for “safekeeping.”
asserted
Levine → give → safekeeping
“I keep it right next to me in the office,” Arons says.
asserted
Arons → keep → office
The pair are already planning a follow-up collection for Spring 2027.
asserted
pair → plan → Spring
“If I could dream up anyone I’d do a collaboration with in the world, it would be Mary Tyler Moore,” Arons says.
uncertain
Arons → dream → world
“It makes it almost even more special because I know Katy [Spade] would love this too.”
asserted
Spade → make → this
“I love it,” he says.
asserted
he → love → it
The Aporia
