They’re the couple you want at your table, or anyone’s. Julie and Herb Karlitz can charm the most discriminating host. They are kind, humble, accomplished and off the charts creative. They’re also warm and gregarious, bringing to any gathering engaging conversation, humor and humility. Talking about success and entrepreneurship may not be on the menu, or something they’d ever order, but they have it in spades, and oh is it delicious.
Julie Karlitz founded the fashion brand Strap-its while her husband founded the culinary event company Karlitz & Co. They are not loud about what they’ve built and they don’t posture or brand themselves as a “power couple.” Yet in New York, a city that runs on relationships, taste and access, their influence is quietly everywhere. It shows up in how people gather around a table, how brands earn loyalty and how hospitality becomes something personal rather than transactional.
What unites them is not just marriage, but instinct. Both are creators. Both are problem-solvers. Both understand that people remember experiences, not slogans, and that confidence, whether worn or shared, changes how people move through the world.
Herb Karlitz’s ideas begin with curiosity. Julie Karlitz begins with observation. Together, they’ve spent decades making life feel a little more thoughtful, a little more human and connected.
Three Decades Entertaining The Customer
Herb Karlitz has spent more than three decades creating experiences that people talk about long after the event is over. “When I look back, the through line is entertaining the customer,” Herb said. “Whether it was music and concerts, chefs and restaurants, it was always about creating something that would entertain and be memorable.”
In the late 1980s, Herb was a pioneer in entertainment and music marketing, creating sponsorships with artists including Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, Gloria Estefan, Bon Jovi and others. A drummer by passion and a lawyer by training, his passions were food and wine, inspired by his parents who owned restaurants where he honed his cooking skills.
“Breaking bread together is how you build relationships,” he said. “That’s really what it comes down to.”
Herb began to see chefs and restaurants as another form of entertainment, with dining rooms as stages and chefs as performers. “If you go to a restaurant and you don’t have a good time, you’re not going back,” he said. “It’s that simple.”
Karlitz & Co. @ Windows on the World
Herb Karlitz’s first major culinary event took place in 1994 at Windows on the World, featuring celebrated chef Michael Lomonaco and Master Sommelier Andrea Immer Robinson. “It sold out,” Herb said. “That paved the way for thousands of experiences.”
For over 35 years, Herb has produced more than 13,000 events worldwide, growing Karlitz & Co. from roughly ten events a year to nearly 400 annually. He’s partnered with dozens of global brands including American Express, Resy, EY, Merrill Lynch, The Breeder’s Cup, and also has produced many significant concerts, food and wine festivals.
But his formula is intentionally anti-formula. “Anybody with money can buy a ticket,” Herb said. “But if you create something people can’t do on their own, that’s when it matters.”
He never wanted chefs as clients, although many asked him to represent them. “I could never take money from a chef; they work too hard. Chefs are my friends. I knew most of them back when they were just called cooks.” There’s no hidden agenda and they trust me.
With just about every celebrity and Michelin chef on speed-dial, that trust has allowed him to create unique experiences that feel intimate rather than transactional: making pasta with a chef, hunting truffles in Italy, or sharing a simple pizza that becomes unforgettable because of who’s at the table.
“Not everything is about caviar or expensive wine,” Herb said. “People are passionate about pizza. They’re passionate about burgers, or a $50 hard-to-get wine that tastes like a $500 bottle only ‘insiders’ know about. It’s about what money can’t buy, and people’s ability to tell the story someone else can’t.”
Chef Marcus Samuelsson & Harlem EatUp!
That philosophy has carried through some of his most impactful work, including Harlem EatUp!, which he created with his dear friend celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson. “That festival brought national attention to Harlem’s culinary and cultural history. We wanted to tell a story,” Herb said. “More than 90% of the people who came had never been to Harlem before.” Even rain couldn’t stop it. “People showed up in galoshes, umbrellas and plastic bags over their shoes,” he said. “That’s how you knew it mattered, we also involved the charity, City Meals on Wheels, which delivers meals to the elderly in Harlem.
Giving back is woven into Herb’s work he also does throughout the year, supporting City Harvest. His annual Celebrity Chefs & Friends Golf, Tennis and Pickleball Tournament, was described this past year “…more like an over-the-top food and wine festival with 120-plus celebrity chefs and iconic restaurants,” which has provided more than five million meals to date.
“I can’t wrap my head around kids going hungry,” Herb said. “Not when we live in a world where people can spend millions to go into space just for the fun of it, but four in ten families today are facing food insecurity.
At home, Herb’s philosophy is just as personal. He hosts annual dinners, inviting chefs, sommeliers and friends to share wines from his cellar. “They are meant to be shared around a good meal. That’s the bonding experience that resonates long after the plates are cleared and the wine glasses are empty,” he said.
Next up for Herb is “EatUp!,” an ABC7 special he is co-producing with celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson. The special will highlight African American chefs and small business owners for Black History Month and will be released this February.
Julie Karlitz Creates “Strap-its”
Julie Karlitz never set out to disrupt fashion. The idea behind “Strap-its” didn’t arrive in a boardroom or a trend forecast, it came from watching her daughters get dressed.
“My daughters were always pulling at their shirts,” she recalled. “Their bra straps were showing, and I remember thinking there just has to be a better way to wear bras.”
Julie didn’t want to stifle self-expression. She wanted to reframe it. “I told them, ‘Be expressive, but let’s do it in a different, more attractive way.’”
What emerged was deceptively simple: a seamless bra with interchangeable straps that were meant to be seen rather than hidden. Denim. Vegan leather. Crystals. Plaid. The most overlooked detail of an outfit became a styling choice.
For Teens Up to Boomers
At first, Julie assumed the product would be for teenagers. “I really thought it was geared toward 15- or 16-year-olds,” she said. “But my friends were the ones saying, ‘This is so cool, can you skew it a little older?’”
That feedback changed everything.
“I’ve always had an incredibly vivid imagination,” Julie said. “Even when I was creating events years ago, I always tried to think outside the box. I always knew I wanted to create something. I just didn’t know what.”
The idea stuck because it solved a real problem. “There were times I wanted to wear certain tops that I couldn’t,” she said. “I had to shimmy my bra strap down, and it was uncomfortable and annoying.”
Validation came quickly, and memorably. A retail chain with multiple locations initially passed on the product. “They said, ‘We don’t know who’s going to buy that,’” Julie remembered. “Six months later, they called us back and said, ‘We were wrong.’” By then, Strap-its had momentum.
Home Shopping Network
When Home Shopping Network (HSN) called asking if she had bras to go with the straps, Julie didn’t hesitate. “We didn’t,” she said, laughing. “So, we quickly created them, went on HSN and sold out in eight-minutes!
Today, Strap-its are sold in more than 2,000 boutiques across the U.S., Canada, Hawaii and Puerto Rico, as well as in luxury resorts and spas. The appeal cuts across generations. “Our bras are for 18-year-olds and 85-year-olds,” Julie said. “There’s no age limit.”
The growth has been largely organic. “We’ve stayed mostly under the radar,” she said. “Someone sees them in Miami, tells their boutique back home, and then that boutique calls us.” Nonetheless, the line has become a favorite among celebrities and reality stars including Joan Vassos, Lisa Barlow, Gina Kirschenheiter, Patti Stanger, Luann de Lesseps and Jennifer Pedranti.
The brand’s philosophy is simple but intentional. “Our whole theme, “meant to be seen,” isn’t just about the straps,” Julie said. “It’s about women being seen in their individuality, how they act, how they want to be perceived. The straps are just one way to show the world who you are.”
That mindset has resonated deeply. “We’ve had women who’ve gone through mastectomies or lumpectomies tell us it’s the only bra they can wear comfortably,” she said. “That’s incredibly gratifying.”
Julie credits much of her discipline to her earlier career producing large-scale celebrity events. Before Strap-its, she worked at Burson-Marsteller, organizing experiences for celebrities and corporate clients. “Coming up with event concepts isn’t that different from launching a product,” she said. “You need vision, planning and attention to detail.”
She runs the business with family as her sounding board.Her daughters, sisters and mother serve as a built-in focus group. “They definitely give me their two cents,” she said, smiling. “Sometimes very loudly!”
Julie and Herb operate independently but in harmony. They understand each other’s instincts. They don’t compete for attention. They create space.
“We’re both about problem-solving,” Julie said. “Just in different ways.”
Herb agrees. “At this point in life, I just want to be around good people,” he said. “Everything else follows.”
Together, they represent a quieter kind of New York power, one built not on flash, but on trust, creativity and generosity. In a city obsessed with what’s new, Herb and Julie Karlitz have mastered what lasts: making people feel comfortable, confident and connected.
And in the end, that’s the most enduring influence of all.
karlitz.com
strap-its.com
By Jeremy Murphy
