It was a sad day Tuesday when the world found out about the passing of fashion designer, Kate Spade. She was found dead of an apparent suicide in her New York City apartment. Spade was 55 years old and left behind a 13 year old daughter. It was the housekeeper who discovered Spade after she committed suicide by using a red scarf and tying it to a doorknob. She did leave a note behind, telling her daughter not to blame herself, how it's not her fault and to ask "daddy". It was also mentioned that Spade's husband (who was having marital problems with Kate), was indeed home in their NYC apartment when Kate decided to end her life.
A little about Kate Spade and her famous fashion house: Spade is known for her colorful, elegant, and classy handbags. She is originally from Missouri and came from humble beginnings. She attended Arizona State University, which is where she met her husband Andy. She is not the only notable figure in the family. Her brother in-law is the comedian/actor David Spade and her niece is the actress Rachel Brosnaham.
She started Kate Spade handbags in 1993 and ended up selling the company she started with her husband, in 2007 to Neiman Marcus Group for $125 million, which at that time was known as Liz Claiborne Inc. Then last year in 2017, Coach ended up buying the brand for $2.4 billion.
The company Kate Spade New York has over 140 retail shops and outlet stores nationwide and more than 175 international shops.
While Spade started with handbags, she expanded into other accessories such as shoes, luggage, stationary, and even created a home line as well as wrote 3 books. Spade was quoted by the Boston Globe in a former interview as once saying her goal for her creations is that she was "looking for something that could be ... more personal,” adding that she also “wanted timelessness."
During her time as a designer, Kate Spade had won multiple fashion awards from the Council of Fashion Designers of America.
The tragic passing of Kate Spade has caused more of an outcry for suicide prevention and mental health awareness. It shows that just because life on the outside seems perfect, such as the case with Spade, mental illness in this country is lurking in the shadows. Celebrities and public figures showed their sympathy, thoughts, and prayers for the late Spade and her family...
While Ivanka Trump, did receive some ridiculous backlash for her tweet regarding Spade, she did acknowledge that it was tragic and painful. People are calling her tone deaf once again. Ivanka is an advocate for mental illness treatment and suicide prevention, so she just took that opportunity to remind people that help is available.
In addition, the New York fashion house themself did tweet about the loss of their beloved founder.
This case with Kate Spade, truly as Ivanka said, is a sad reminder that suicide and mental illness looms in the background of this culture and it's our responsibility to offer as much help as we possibly can. It happens to people of all backgrounds, sexs, ages, and religions. In other words, it can happen to anymore. It's a problem in this country and we cannot turn a blind eye. Sometimes the best thing we can do as a society is encourage people that there is help out there for them and that there is another option even though, they think suicide is the only one.
The National Suivide Prevention Lifeline is a free service that offers counceling to those that need it. Their number is 800-273-TALK
-Producer Lightning