Kate Brosnahan Spade, the fashion designer and businesswoman reported dead at 55.
The iconic designer who left her job at a fashion magazine and built a handbag company that grew into a multi-million-dollar brand — was found dead in her New York City apartment Tuesday morning of apparent suicide, a spokesperson for the New York Police Department confirmed.
Police responded to Spade’s apartment around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. Her death is still under investigation.
A suicide note was found, a second NYPD source said. A second source added that Spade was found by her housekeeper.
The note Kate left behind was telling her daughter that she should not blame herself for her suicide, according to police sources. 
The couple’s 13-year-old daughter, Frances Beatrix Spade, was at school.
The couple’s 13-year-old daughter, Frances Beatrix Spade, was at school.No criminality is suspected, NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea said at an unrelated press conference.
“At this point, there was a note left. The contents of that note, as well as the physical state of the apartment and the comments of the witness, lend to the credibility that it is an apparent suicide,” he said.
Kate Spade’s Fashion
Spade, 55, started Kate Spade New York in 1993 and opened her first shop in the city three years later, the company’s website states. Before making the jump to designing, she was a senior fashion editor at the fashion magazine Mademoiselle.“Debuting with just six silhouettes, she combined sleek, utilitarian shapes and colorful palettes in an entirely new way,” the site says.
Best known for its colorful handbags, the company has more than 140 retail shops and outlet stores across the United States and more than 175 stores internationally, the site states.
Over time, she distanced herself from her business. In 1999 she and her husband, Andy Spade, sold 56% of the brand to Neiman Marcus for $33.6 million. Liz Claiborne acquired the company in 2007, and Spade left her namesake brand.The luxury fashion company Coach announced plans in May 2017 to buy Kate Spade for $2.4 billion.
Meanwhile, Kate Spade New York has issued a statement confirming the “incredibly sad news” of their eponymous founder’s death.“Although Kate has not been affiliated with the brand for more than a decade, she and her husband and creative partner, Andy, were the founders of our beloved brand,” the statement said. “Kate will be dearly missed. Our thoughts are with Andy and the entire Spade family at this time.”
“We honor all the beauty she brought into this world,” the company added in a tweet.
— kate spade new york (@katespadeny) June 5, 2018
Kate Brosnahan Spade, the fashion designer and businesswoman reported dead at 55.
The iconic designer who left her job at a fashion magazine and built a handbag company that grew into a multi-million-dollar brand — was found dead in her New York City apartment Tuesday morning of apparent suicide, a spokesperson for the New York Police Department confirmed.
Police responded to Spade’s apartment around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. Her death is still under investigation.
A suicide note was found, a second NYPD source said. A second source added that Spade was found by her housekeeper.
The note Kate left behind was telling her daughter that she should not blame herself for her suicide, according to police sources. The couple’s 13-year-old daughter, Frances Beatrix Spade, was at school.
The couple’s 13-year-old daughter, Frances Beatrix Spade, was at school.No criminality is suspected, NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea said at an unrelated press conference.
“At this point, there was a note left. The contents of that note, as well as the physical state of the apartment and the comments of the witness, lend to the credibility that it is an apparent suicide,” he said.
Kate Spade’s Fashion
Spade, 55, started Kate Spade New York in 1993 and opened her first shop in the city three years later, the company’s website states. Before making the jump to designing, she was a senior fashion editor at the fashion magazine Mademoiselle.“Debuting with just six silhouettes, she combined sleek, utilitarian shapes and colorful palettes in an entirely new way,” the site says.
Best known for its colorful handbags, the company has more than 140 retail shops and outlet stores across the United States and more than 175 stores internationally, the site states.
Over time, she distanced herself from her business. In 1999 she and her husband, Andy Spade, sold 56% of the brand to Neiman Marcus for $33.6 million. Liz Claiborne acquired the company in 2007, and Spade left her namesake brand.The luxury fashion company Coach announced plans in May 2017 to buy Kate Spade for $2.4 billion.
Meanwhile, Kate Spade New York has issued a statement confirming the “incredibly sad news” of their eponymous founder’s death.“Although Kate has not been affiliated with the brand for more than a decade, she and her husband and creative partner, Andy, were the founders of our beloved brand,” the statement said. “Kate will be dearly missed. Our thoughts are with Andy and the entire Spade family at this time.”
“We honor all the beauty she brought into this world,” the company added in a tweet.
— kate spade new york (@katespadeny) June 5, 2018
