Kate Spade, the iconic designer behind Kate Spade bags claims her own life, dead at 56

Every woman undertakes an intricate albeit sensitive journey that transforms her from the age of adolescence to being a grown-up. This coming-of-age of a woman can be understood through a wide variety of choices that reflect the very way she chooses to carry herself, the way she opts to define her persona.

Bags, hats, chains, purses, clutches, earrings and other fashion essentials that might have looked a tad bit too colourful, dashing and even haywire transform into being more sophisticated and understated. There’s a touch of fashion but minus the shenanigans. And few others have been able to convey and capture this beautiful journey of a woman courtesy varied, alluring fashion essentials better than Kate Spade.

This, isn’t just a fashionable name one finds etched in an elegant fashion label by the same name, rather a mark of respect. But unfortunately, on June 6, 2018- the main image behind the fashion label Kate Spade, the woman herself left for the heavenly abode.

Kate Spade, the popular and widely respected fashion designer behind the elegant bags and clothing label is no more. In a news that has sent shockwaves down the spine of the fashion industry and the glamour business- the sudden passing of Kate Spade is as surprising as it is saddening. Apparently, there’s no foul-play reported in the death of the designer. Kate Spade committed suicide, leaving behind a daughter and husband. She was only 56.

It is both surprising and hugely upsetting to note that when suddenly iconic people among us pass away, it tends to open our world to a broader realisation. Who would’ve thought that someone as successful and glamorous, someone whose face was plastered on opulent lifestyle journals synonymous with leading a ‘good’ life would commit such an act as suicide?

Because normally, we tend to not worry or reflect on how troubled could even successful people be. Isn’t it? Who’s to know that what actually goes behind the charming, external veneers of a life replete with luxuries, fame and, recognition? The late Kate Spade hanged herself using a scarf inside her New York apartment. There is, even to this day, decades after the augmentation of her eponymous brand, no one who, whether or not connected with the glamour business- whether in art, cinema- hasn’t used or gifted a Kate Spade bag.

She has left behind a suicide note addressed to her daughter whom, she admitted, in an earlier interview, was loved the most. And she also shared, her daughter was someone who meant the most to her. But the ongoing trouble around Kate Spade’s life, reports suggest, had something to do with her inability to start her second brand, something she had been planning for the longest time but wasn’t able to deliver.

In Kate Spade’s realm, that might have meant competing with her own brand in order to arise with another brand. But it’s also distressing to note that at the time of her demise, Kate Spade might have been at an emotional and personal battle with herself in the wake of her inability to launch her new brand successfully, which is believed to have been named after her daughter- Frances Valentine.

In order to boost this new brand’s sales, Kate Spade had even considered or was in the process of nearly separating from her billion-dollar brand, going as far as changing her name officially- from Kate Spade to Kate Valentine Spade.

She would certainly not have traded the time spent with her daughter for anything else in her life, ever. Although, as of last year, the famous woman behind the renowned fashion label proudly confessed that in order to launch the second brand, she did not take a single penny from any external source in order to get into the market.

Could it be, therefore, that the failure of the second brand- Francis Valentine- led Kate to take such a drastic step in her life? So much so that she decided to claim her own life and separate from the one person who meant so much to her: her daughter?

Some of the thoughts that Kate Spade shared, in relation to her view of her own standing in her company are as follows. ‘I always had a good way of disconnecting myself from the company. I feel proud of what we built, but I’m in a different place. I wasn’t competing with my namesake.” Among the celebrated users of a Kate Spade handbag include none other than The Duchess of Cambridge (Kate Middleton).