Kate Spade, Whose Handbags Carried Women Into Adulthood, Is Dead at 55 - nytimes

The designer Kate Spade, who created an accessories empire and whose handbags became a status symbol and a token of sophisticated adulthood for American women, was found dead on Tuesday.

Ms. Spade built a brand on the appeal of clothes and accessories that made women smile, her cheerful lack of restraint and bright prints striking a chord with consumers.

She was the embodiment of her own aesthetic, with her proto-1960s bouffant, nerd glasses and kooky grin, which masked a business mind that saw the opportunities in becoming a lifestyle brand, almost before the term officially existed.

The police said Tuesday that Ms. Spade, 55, was discovered unresponsive at a Park Avenue apartment, where she had hanged herself in her bedroom. She was pronounced dead at the scene at 10:26 a.m. She left a note, but the official did not comment on what it said.

A housekeeper found Ms. Spade, the police said. She was unconscious and the housekeeper called 911. Ms. Spade’s husband was at the scene.

“We are all devastated by today’s tragedy,” the Spade family said in a statement. “We loved Kate dearly and will miss her terribly. We would ask that our privacy be respected as we grieve during this very difficult time.”

Born Katherine Brosnahan in Kansas City, Mo., in December 1962, Ms. Spade was one of the first of a powerful wave of female American contemporary designers in the 1990s.

Ms. Spade, who had been the accessories editor of Mademoiselle magazine, founded Kate Spade with her husband-to-be, Andy and a friend, Elyce Arons, in 1993. Frustrated with the handbags of the era, which she found to be over-accessorized, she had wanted “a functional bag that was sophisticated and had some style,” she told The New York Times in 1999. 

A spokeswoman for Kate Spade New York said in a statement that while “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. Kate will be dearly missed. Our thoughts are with Andy and the entire Spade family at this time.” - Read More

Kate Spade, American Designer, Is Dead at 55 - The New York Times