RIP Kate Spade: Defining Fashion for the Empowered Woman
I will miss the sleek lines and smooth elegance that permeated her designs—designs that reflected my desire to marry my go-get-it personality with my love for fashion. Kate Spade gave career women the opportunity to celebrate their love of design and still feel fashion-forward.
I was first introduced to the artistry of Kate Spade through a client who couldn’t wait to tell me about her new job. She was working for an up-and-coming designer and was most excited about the fact that her smart, fashion-forward boss had a fashion appreciation for the working woman.
One look at the new bag my client was carrying had me hooked—here was a designer of a different sort, one whose designs proved cleverness, intelligence, and determination were fashionable.
Two of my favorite Kate Spade accessories.
Today I say goodbye to a woman whose handbags, for me, personified the definition of quiet boldness. Just as I was rushing out the door to meet a client I received the news on Tuesday that Kate Spade was found dead of an apparent suicide by hanging. She’d left a note, and a red scarf was found around her neck and attached to doorknob in her bedroom. Details of the suicide note have not been made public. Kate was 55.
I will miss the sleek lines and smooth elegance that permeated her designs—designs that reflected my desire to marry my go-get-it personality with my love for fashion. Kate Spade gave career women the opportunity to celebrate their love of design and still feel fashion-forward. My client told me shortly after she’d started her job that she believed Kate Spade was a phenomenal woman—knowing Kate’s designs were an extension of who she was, I couldn’t agree more.
A spokeswoman for Kate Spade New York said today in a statement about Kate Spade founders Kate and her husband Andy that "Kate will be dearly missed," and that "our thoughts are with entire Spade family at this time.”
RIP Kate Spade.