If Tuesday’s earthquake taught us anything, it’s that certain Californian elements just don’t translate to the Atlantic coast–at least not without a lot of Twitter protest. But when we heard several months ago that Kate Spade New York, purveyor of all things preppy-pretty, was poised to team up with L.A. stylists Emily Current and Meritt Elliot (the same team behind those perfectly slouchy boyfriend jeans) for a special collection, our ears instantly perked up.

On Wednesday night, we headed to Kate Spade New York’s Broome Street boutique to witness the results. From leather-edged envelope clutches sparkling with charcoal-toned sequins to ostrich-skin shoulder bags and logo-free satchels sure to get even better with age and wear, every single piece in the duo’s “Westward” lineup embodies heritage-steeped simplicity.

In between sips of champagne and bites of sliders, we chatted with Kate Spade New York Creative Director Deborah Lloyd about how the collab came about. “It was all about joint admiration,” she said, “plus, my own assistant wears Current/Elliott head-to-toe to work!” Lloyd explains that while us Manhattanites tend to go for a “matching, polished” aesthetic, she loved the notion of adding a Californian touch to her label’s famously girly look. “It was all about the laid-back style and relaxed peace that they brought to the bags, the unusual materials and the mixing-up of things. But you still see those Kate Spade pops of polish and sweetness.”

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