Khaite

Khaite is the New York luxury house Catherine Holstein founded in 2016, and it makes some of the sharpest leather, denim and knitwear in American fashion. The name is pronounced “Kate.” Holstein launched with a denim collection and built the house on three materials since, each treated with more precision than the price of an American contemporary label would suggest.

We include it in our guide to the best quiet luxury brands with one qualification. Khaite is quiet in its branding and loud in its shapes. That is a different proposition from The Row or Loro Piana.

Behind the brand

History of Khaite

Catherine Holstein grew up outside New York, studied at Parsons, and worked at Vera Wang, Gap and J.Crew before launching her own label. An earlier line under her own name closed, and she spent several years rethinking what she wanted to make.

Khaite launched in 2016 with denim, on the argument that the category was either affordable or overwrought and rarely well cut. Knitwear and leather followed quickly. The brand was showing on the New York calendar within a few years, and Holstein was named CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year in 2022. The name comes from the ancient Greek for hair, chosen for its sense of strength in something fine.

The business is no longer independent. In 2023 the growth equity firm Stripes took a majority stake, and Holstein stayed on as owner-designer and creative director. The investment funded the brand’s first standalone stores.

The Khaite collection

Denim is where the brand started and where the demand still concentrates. The Danielle straight-leg jean, priced around $620, and the Abigail are the pieces shoppers search by name. The Benny belt, a wide leather waist belt often finished with studs, has become the accessory the house is known for, and it runs from roughly $490. Leather is the category that made Khaite’s reputation, particularly the jackets and the Nevada boot, a mid-calf western style in python-embossed calfskin.

The collection also runs to cashmere knitwear, often oversized or cropped, and handbags have grown into a serious business with the Lotus, Elena and Olivia leading the range. In 2025 the brand extended into eyewear with the Khaite x Oliver Peoples 1967C sunglasses. We feature Khaite in our guides to the best blazers for women and the best leather jackets for women.

Craftsmanship and materials

Khaite manufactures largely in Italy, and the material grade is well above what most American contemporary brands use. The leathers are supple enough to fall rather than hold a shape. The jackets are cut to drape rather than to stand. The knitwear uses long-staple cashmere, and the denim is cut from Japanese and Italian mill cloth. For a brand under a decade old, the supply chain runs unusually close to the European houses it is priced against.

Where to buy Khaite

Khaite sells through its own stores, its official site and a group of luxury retailers that includes the major etailers. Wholesale is a significant part of the business, so seasonal discounting does happen. Shop the full collection at Khaite for the widest choice of sizes and colors.

Khaite price

Khaite prices between the American contemporary market and the European luxury houses. Denim and knitwear start in the mid hundreds, the Danielle jean costs around $620, and leather jackets and boots run into the low thousands. Leather is the category the brand was built on and the one where the Italian making shows most.