Kate Spade, who in 1993 founded her wildly successful namesake label Kate Spade New York,died in her N.Y.C. apartment on Tuesday of an apparent suicide.
Police say she was found hanging from a red scarf Tuesday morning in her bedroom at her Park Avenue home in Manhattan. The scarf had reportedly been tied to her door.
Born Katherine Noel Brosnahan in Kansas City, Missouri in 1962, Kate studied journalism at Arizona State University before beginning her career in the accessories department ofMademoisellemagazine in the early 1980s – “tying models’ shoes on a photo shoot…that or getting hairstylists Snickers…it was a lot of work, I’ll say that,”she said on NPR’s How I Built That podcast.
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Despite having no prior design background, she wanted to create her own line after being frustrated with the lack of function in the popular handbags of the time. “I wanted a functional bag that was sophisticated and had some style,” she toldThe New York Timesin 1999.
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The designer and her then-boyfriend Andy Spade (the brother of David), with whom she’d moved to New York after meeting at their men’s clothing store job back in Arizona, teamed up with friend Elyce Arons to launch the brand, combining her first and his last name. “My Catholic parents…I told my mom and honestly, she burst into flames,” Kate recalled inNPR’sHow I Built Thispodcastof the moment she told her parents the name of their brand. “She said, ‘But you’re not Kate Spade! Oh, now you’ll never be Kate Spade, now you’ve jinxed it. And why would you name it Kate Spade?’ And I said, Well, it’s my first name, his last name, it’s like Dolce & Gabbana, and she goes, ‘Who the hell’s that?'”
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Despite early wins – Barneys bought some of their bags when she showed at booth at an accessories show at Javits Center – Kate told NPR that they were “still not making any money, nobody was making a salary,” in those early days.
“Andy was funding everything,” Kate said. “I just remember thinking, ‘I think we need to shut it down.’”
But her accessories editor’s attention to detail was what propelled the brand to massive success. According toThe New York Timesin 1999, she was up all night before her second showing, and suddenly decided to take the label on the inside of the bag and sew it on the outside, “deciding they needed something to attract the eye.”
Friend and former Executive Director of the CFDA Fern Mallis told PEOPLE that Kate was “as adorable as her accessories were. She was always dressed fun and was always perky. She was very spirited. She was just a delight.”
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By 1998 the company made $28 million in sales and in 1999 Neiman Marcus bought 56 percent of the company. In 2006, it was sold to Liz Claiborne, Inc. (which renamed itself after Kate Spade New York), then to Coach, Inc. (now known as Tapestry) in 2017.
The couple sold their shares in the company in 2007 to spend time with their daughter, Frances Beatrix Spade (who was born in 2005) and to pursue other ventures; Kate became involved with philanthropy, and Andy went on to create a line of loungewear, Sleepy Jones.
“I wanted to leave on good terms, it was the perfect time to leave,” Kate told NPR. “I wanted to spend time with my daughter. I’d heard so many horror stories about people who sell and then they stay and then they fight and they sue…so I thought ‘Oh, that’s too ugly for me.’ So it was seamless. It was a very quiet exit.”
She told PEOPLE in 2016, “I needed a break and I really wanted to raise my daughter [Frances],” Spade said. “People asked me, ‘Don’t you miss it?’ I really didn’t. I mean, I loved what I was doing, but I didn’t miss it as much as I thought I might.”
Kate Spade, 55, Found Dead in N.Y.C. Apartment from Apparent Suicide
After 10 years away from the retail industry, the couple launched a brand new accessories brand, Frances Valentine, in 2016, noting that they worked well together despite having different personalities (she told PEOPLE he is “relaxed more of a risk taker” while she was “more detailed and uptight neurotic”).
“We’re both very creative,” Katetold theNYTin 1999 about their working dynamic. ‘”But he has a calm approach and I tend to get very nervous. I worry a lot. And he says, ‘It’s just handbags. Jeez, Kate, it’s just handbags.'”
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In order to set her new label apart from the old, Kate legally changed her name to Kate Valentine Spade. “I thought it was important to distinguish who I am now,” shetold PEOPLE. “I’m the same person, but there’s a difference.”
She toldInStyleat the time of the brand’s launch that she wanted to make this new brand completely separate from her first business. “I definitely went into this not wanting to repeat what I’ve done or what’s being done through my namesake,” she says. “I respect what they’re doing and what I did then, but it’s important that there’s a distinction and that you can feel it.”
During her 2016 PEOPLE interview, Kate identified the piece of advice she’d give her younger self: “Don’t rest on your laurels. The end result isn’t as important as the effort that goes into it. Jump all the way in. Don’t be afraid. And don’t worry so much,” she said.
But before launching Frances Valentine, she tweaked her approach. “My dad always says ‘Just float.’ He’s very zen,” she said. “Not every little pebble is a boulder. And it’s kind of how I approached [my new brand]. I feel a little less nervous. I should be more nervous, but I’m not going to take it so crazily, hopefully.”
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From the early days of her boxy Sam bag (so beloved that Kate Spade New York relaunched it this year) to her namesake label’s many famous faces and red carpet appearances, Kate and her fun-loving, festive aesthetic had a major impact on fashion, andmany celebrities shared memories on social media.
“Kate Spade was more than a designer,” Lena Dunham, who had worn Frances Valentine pieces,wrote on Twitter. “She had a quirky visual language that captivated Bat Mitzvah girls and artists alike. She was also a staple of NYC who spread good will. My heart breaks for her family. Thank you, Kate, from one of the millions you made feel beautiful.”
Ultimately, what made a Spade a Spade was its namesake’s commitment to doing what she loved every day. “I do things that I actually love and understand,”she told the Palm Beach Postin 2002. She reiterated that statement in her 2016 PEOPLE interview: “You’ve got to be fearless. Don’t feel like, ugh, I have to buy that bag because that bag is in. I love it when someone is like, ‘What is that?’ And I’m like, ‘I don’t even know!’”
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
source: people.com
