Kate Spade, legendary handbag designer, found dead of suicide

Iconic fashion designer Kate Spade was found dead Tuesday in her New York City apartment of an apparent suicide. She was 55. 

Det. Sophia Mason, a spokeswoman for the NYPD, confirmed to USA TODAY that Spade was found dead of an apparent hanging at a Park Avenue address around 10:30 a.m. ET. . 

Spade was found by a housekeeper. Her husband and business partner, Andy Spade, was in the house at the time, according to chief of detectives, Dermot Shea, who briefed reporters Tuesday afternoon.

Shea said investigators were still in the early stages of their investigation but evidence including the state of the apartment and the presence of a note pointed to "a tragic suicide."

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Spade is survived by her 13-year-old daughter, Frances Beatrix Spade. Spade's new fashion line, Frances Valentine, is named for her daughter.

Through her husband, Spade was the sister-in-law of comedian David Spade. She was also the aunt of Rachel Brosnahan, the star of Amazon's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

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Her family issued a statement through a spokesman saying they were devastated and pleading for privacy, according to The Associated Press. 

Spade became a fashion force and cultural touchstone for her instantly recognizable handbags featuring modern, sleek designs with bold pops of color and feminine flourishes. Along with Andy Spade, her then-boyfriend, she grew a small line founded in 1993 to an international behemoth bearing her name. 

Spade was born Katherine Noel Brosnahan in Kansas City, Mo., in 1962. She met Andy Spade at Arizona State University in the 1980s when they were both students working part time at Carter's men's store.

After graduation, Spade moved to New York, starting her career at Mademoiselle magazine as an accessories editor.

"She stopped in New York for one night on a trip back from Europe," Andy told USA TODAY in a 1997 interview, "and went to Mademoiselle for a temp job and was hired."

It was there she saw a need for practical, yet fashionable handbags. 

Along with her husband and friend Elyce Arons, Spade launched the company with an iconic $155 black nylon handbag and five other basic bags, mostly square and minus froufrou decoration. 

"It's never too complicated or overly designed, but it should have personality," Spade told USA TODAY in 2005 of her design credo.

Distinguished by the discreet rectangular label on the outside of each bag, the line found a niche as a quintessentially preppy favorite: functional classics in occasionally offbeat colors designed never to succumb to trendiness.

They quickly became popular with celebrities from Sandra Bullock to Linda Evangelista, and made appearances on TV shows, including Sex and the City.

"Back then people weren't doing simple designs. There was a PBS tote bag that had style, but it wasn't made well," the designer told USA TODAY in 1997.

Spade eventually branched into a variety of accessories and home decor, starting with men's accessories in 1997 under the label Jack Spade (derived from “beloved” Jacks in both of her and Andy's families) and moving to stationery in '98, shoes in '99 and eyewear in 2001. Also in 2001, Paola Venturi joined the trio as design director.

In 1999, Neiman Marcus bought a 56% stake in the company for $33.6 million.

The founding partners walked away from the company in 2007, one year after it was acquired by the group then known as Liz Claiborne Inc. for $125 million. The group subsequently sold off its other operations and became Kate Spade & Co.

Kate and Andy, who said their focus was on family after the departure from their namesake company, returned to fashion with the shoe and handbag line Frances Valentine in 2015. 

Kate Spade New York now has more than 140 retail shops and outlet stores across the U.S. and more than 175 shops internationally. On Tuesday, the company posted a tweet mourning her: "We honor all the beauty she brought into this world."

Julia Curry, a spokeswoman for the company, said that "Kate will be dearly missed" and "our thoughts are with Andy and the entire Spade family at this time."

Friends and admirers expressed shock and sadness at the news.  

Diane von Furstenberg and Steven Kolb issued a statement on behalf of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, which held its 2018 awards Monday night.

Spade was a two-time winner, in 1998 and 1996, of a CFDA International Award, considered the equivalent of an Oscar for the fashion world.  

"The CFDA is devastated to hear the news of our friend, colleague, and CFDA member Kate Spade’s tragic passing. She was a great talent who had an immeasurable impact on American fashion and the way the world viewed American accessories.

"We want to honor her life and her major contribution to the fashion business and express our most sincere condolences to the family," the statement said.

Spade's death comes after a series of high-profile suicides by hanging. Chester Bennington, frontman for Linkin Park, hanged himself in his home near Los Angeles in July 2017. He was 41. 

Designer and model L’Wren Scott, then the girlfriend of Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, committed suicide by hanging in her Manhattan apartment in March 2014. She was 49.

And comedian/movie star Robin Williams committed suicide in August 2014 by hanging in a bedroom of his home in Marin County, Calif., north of San Francisco. He was 63.