Designer of Kate Spade found dead
Designer Kate Valentine (55) known for Kate Spade fashion line, was found dead in her Manhattan apartment on 6th Jun 2018.
Ms Spade, known for her sleek, Whimsical designs with a strong eye for shape and bright colours, created a global popular brand, which now has more than 500 stores around the world. The designer grew up in Missouri and read journalism at Arizona State University, after graduating moved to New York and found work as a fashion editor for Mademoiselle magazine owned by Conde Nast. In 1993 she founded a handbag company with her husband, Andy Spade the brother of actor David Spade.
She said, “ I really loved very simple kind of architectural shapes and would wear these very simple shapes, none of which were famous designers.. and I thought, gosh, I mean, why can’t we find something just clean and simple and modern?”
The unique simple concept became popular with women particularly Millennials and also caught the eye of Neiman Marcus, the upmarket department store, which brought a majority stake in 1996. A decade later Liz Claiborne bought the company for $124m and Ms Spade sold her remaining shares, saying she wanted to spend more time with her daughter Frances, who was born in 2005.
Coach bought Kate Spade for £2,4bn in 2017, in a bid to revive its brand and reach new young shoppers.
A New York medical examiner has ruled that Kate Spade’s death was caused by suicide, after Kate’s body was discovered on Tuesday by a cleaner in her Park Avenue home. Police have previously said that she left a note pointing to “a tragic suicide”. Spade’s 13-year-old daughter, Frances Beatrix was not at home when the death occurred.