7 things to know about recently dead fashion designer, Kate Spade

Kate Spade, an influential fashion designer based in New York, was known for her colourful, classic, and cheerful designs.

On 5 June 2018, at age 55, the designer was found dead of apparent suicide in her Manhattan New York apartment. Scroll down to learn more about her life, her family, and her career.

 

1. Her maiden name was Brosnahan

She was born Katherine Noel Brosnahan on December 24, 1962, in Kansas City, Missouri. Rachel Brosnahan, who plays Mrs Maisel in Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, is her niece.

 

2. She got her start in magazine

Brosnahan graduated from Arizona State University with a journalism degree in 1985 and quickly moved to New York, where she got a job in the accessories department at Mademoiselle magazine. In 1991, she left the publication. By that time, she had risen to the title of senior fashion editor and head of accessories.

 

3. She married Andy Spade in 1994

The two met while working at a men’s clothing store in Phoenix, Arizona. Andy Spade, an advertising executive, is actor David Spade’s brother. Kate Spade Is survived by husband and daughter

 

4. Her clothing company originally just made accessories

In 1993, two years after leaving Mademoiselle, she started a design company called Kate Spade Handbags, which initially just sold bags and later expanded to jewellery, shoes, clothing, stationery, eyewear, fragrances, home decor, dinnerware, and more.

 

5. In 2006, she left her namesake company

She sold her remaining stock in Kate Spade New York to Neiman Marcus, who already had a majority share in the label, and used the free time to raise her daughter, Frances, now 13.

 

6. Ten years later, she started a new brand, Frances Valentine

The label focused on luxury shoes and, once again, handbags.

 

7. Coach, Inc acquired Kate Spade for $2.4 billion dollars in 2017

In May 2017, Coach, also known as Tapestry (a luxury group that also houses Stuart Weitzman), bought Kate Spade New York, which had been sold to Liz Claiborne Inc., later called Fifth & Pacific, in 2006. Kate didn’t see any of that money, having been bought out a decade prior.

 

Source: Cosmopolitan