The Fashion World Remembers Designer Kate Spade

The iconic handbag designer has tragically passed away

Posted on

6 June 2018

All mage credits: Getty images

Fashion designer Kate Spade was driven by her own desire for a well-made, classic handbag which served a purpose and wasn’t overpriced –as for many women, a Kate Spade handbag was an investment in a timeless, simple and practical accessory. Spade built a global empire on this need for an unfussy bag, with a legacy of over 140 retail shops and more than 175 stores internationally.

Tragically, the American designer Kate Spade has died at the age of 55, as today the fashion world remembers her modern elegance, timeless style and her iconic handbags which launched her career in 1993. Although the Kate Spade brand evolved into luggage tags, shoes, stationary and socks –the designer will always be admired for the craft of her sophisticated bags with their sleek atheistic and simplicity.

Also remembered as a former editor at Mademoiselle Magazine, Kate Spade took a break from the fashion industry in 1999 when she sold the majority stake in her company and then the rest of her shares in 2006.

In 2016 Spade returned to the industry and launched a new line named Frances Valentine, after her daughter. The brand gave Spade the creative outlet she craved and had missed, after her Kate Spade New York label had gone global and out of the designer’s direct control. Kate Spade even changed her name to Kate Valentine, in honour of the new label.

Following the news of her passing, friends, fans, celebrities and industry icons haven taken to social media to pay tribute to the designer and remember her classic designs which live on in her memory. Described as a wonderful, talented woman, the designer will be dearly missed by many and by fashion.