Popular as Kate Spade, Katherine Noel Valentine Brosnahan Spade, was an American fashion designer and businesswoman. Kate with her partner founded Kate Spade New York, a luxury label.
June (Mullen) and Francis (Frank) Brosnahan had a road-construction company, and their daughter Katherine Noel Brosnahan was born there as Spade in Kansas City, Missouri. Her ancestry was primarily Irish. Spade attended the University of Kansas after completing her high school education at the all-female Catholic St. Teresa's Academy. Later on, she changed schools to Arizona State University. With the intention of working in television production, she joined the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and earned a journalism degree in 1985. She employed Andy Spade, who would later become her husband and business partner, as a sales associate at Carter's Men's Shop in Phoenix while she was still in college.
The couple moved to Manhattan in 1986. Kate was a Mademoiselle magazine employee in the accessories division. She was the Senior Fashion Editor/Head of Accessories until she departed Mademoiselle in 1991. She made the decision to design her own purses after observing a shortage of fashionable, smart, and cheap options on the market while working at Mademoiselle.
| Name | Kate Spade |
| Birth Date | December 24th, 1962 |
| Birth Place | Kansas City, MO |
| Death | 5th June, 2018 |
| Profession | Fashion Designer |
| Brand | Kate Spade New York |
In January 1993, Kate and Andy started Kate Spade, New York. Because she and Andy weren't yet wed and "Kate Brosnahan" sounded like a complicated name for a fashion brand, Spade was first undecided about the name of the company. She pondered several names, but she decided to go with "Kate Spade" when Andy recommended it because she would adopt the name Spade once they were married.
With the use of paper and Scotch Tape, Spade created six prototypes for the bags, which were then produced by an East New York company open to working with a start-up. Andy, a former copywriter, pulled his retirement money from his 401(k) plan and occasionally wrote personal checks to pay staff members in order to finance the business. Living at friends' flats throughout the shipping season because their home was crammed with boxed handbags was the couple's choice. Spade made the decision to put the labels on the exterior of the bag after an early performance at the Javits Center, where the department store chain Barneys had purchased a couple of them. It took her all night to make the adjustment, but it helped establish the brand.
The bags immediately gained popularity, especially in New York, and were priced between $150 and $450. The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) director during the 1990s, Fern Mallis, called that "a major shift" in fashion. "Bags by Kate Spade were in common use. They were within your means, so you gladly purchased more than one. " At the time, fashionable bags were popular among young American ladies. Unlike more expensive brands like Burberry or Louis Vuitton, the Kate Spade bags were described by one woman as looking "mature, without being too grown-up for a teenager." According to Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue, "At the turn of the past century, her bag came to represent a very Manhattan moment in time," when she recalled that it was difficult to walk a block in the city without encountering one.
Spade took a few years off after selling the remaining stake in her company to devote her attention to her daughter once she was born. In 2016, she debuted a fresh line of opulent shoes and handbags under the brand Frances Valentine. The name is a combination of Spade's paternal family name, Frances, and another name. Being born on Valentine's Day gave Spade's maternal grandfather the middle name "Valentine." Later, Valentine was added to Spade's complete name legally.
Following Spade's passing, the company unveiled the "Love Katy" line of garments in her honor. The company intends to launch the designs and inspirations that Spade has been working on for several years.
In 1994, David Spade's brother, Andy Spade, an actor and comedian, wed Spade. Although they were not legally divorced, the couple had started living apart a few months before her passing. In 2005, a daughter, the couple's lone child, was born. Spade is the aunt of the actress Rachel Brosnahan.
In her Manhattan apartment, Spade was discovered dead by a housekeeper on June 5, 2018. Suicide was determined to be the cause of her death. According to the police, she left her daughter a message that was addressed to her. The day after his wife passed away, Andy Spade issued the following statement: Kate battled anxiety and sadness for many years. Her disease, which claims far too many lives, was something she was actively seeking out treatment for, and she was collaborating closely with medical professionals. The previous evening, we spoke with her, and she sounded content. She didn't give any forewarning or hint that she would act in this way. It completely shocked me. Evidently, it wasn't her either. She was struggling with some inner demons.
Kate Spade was awarded "America's New Fashion Talent in Accessories" by the CFDA in 1996 for her timeless designs. Her nomination for "Best Accessory Designer of the Year" was again recognized by the organization in 1998.
Among the three design honors she received in 2004 for her home collection were the "Elle Decor International Design Award for Bedding" from Elle Decor, the "American Food and Entertaining Award for Designer of the Year" from Bon Appétit, and the "Giants of Design Award for Tastemaker" from House Beautiful.
At the Henry W. Bloch School of Management at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, she was honored by being inducted into the Entrepreneur Hall of Fame in 2017.
She received another honor from Fast Company in 2017 when they named her one of the Most Creative People in Business.
On June 5, Kate Spade, a famous fashion and accessory designer, tragically passed away in her home from what appeared to be a hanging. Her vision and work ethic were demonstrated by Spade's astonishingly quick rise to fame in the fashion industry. She was a role model for aspiring designers because she was one of the first and most well-known women to run a brand of designer goods.
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