My first Kate Spade handbag was a fake. I bought it on Canal Street during my first visit to New York City, a mother-daughter weekend bestowed as a 16th birthday present. In my excitement I planned the weekend down to the minute, using travel guides that I checked out from the local library, but most of the trip is now a blur of pre-Google Maps cardinal confusion: a bumpy taxi ride in search of Ethiopian food; a brief glimpse of the World Trade Center; and a dollhouse-sized hotel room somewhere off Times Square, overlooking an air vent.
But I remember the bag. It was a worthy fake, in Kate Spade’s signature shape. Instead of black nylon, the exterior was a soft gray-and-white tweed, with fake leather straps. Walking the halls of my tony public high school in the Chicago suburbs with that bag on my shoulder, I felt both less invisible and achingly normal. It was like magic.
That new chapter came to an end this morning, when Spade was found dead at age 55 in her Park Avenue apartment. She had hanged herself in her bedroom and was discovered by her housekeeper, police said.
“We are all devastated by today’s tragedy,” the Spade family said in a statement. “We loved Kate dearly and will miss her terribly.”
But frustration with magazine work prompted Andy to suggest she launch her own accessories line. She had no design experience, but she had style and a strong instinct for women’s desires. For two years, they used Andy’s salary to make sample handbags, selling bright linen versions to Barneys and attracting positive coverage in Vogue. In 1996, Spade won a CFDA award for her designs, and sales skyrocketed. Three years later, they were selling handbags in premier department stores nationwide.
An explosion of loud and colorful “it bags” soon filled fashion runways. But Spade steered clear of trendy looks, instead focusing on classic styles with a whimsical twist. While other American brands, like Ralph Lauren, envisioned aspirational Americana as a dynastic enterprise, Spade invited individual women to be ladies on their own terms. Over time, she added shoes, clothing, home goods, and more to her portfolio (for years, I was loyal to the “snail mail” stationary).
Amid the ups and downs, Kate herself always appeared equal parts elegant and retro-fun, with her ’60s-style updo and oversize jewelry. In pictures, she often seems to be playing the role of expert hostess, welcoming but professional. That’s why I keep returning to the picture that her fledgling brand Frances Valentine posted on its Instagram page this past Mother’s Day, featuring Spade with her daughter. Here she is not hostess, but loving mom, her hair mussed and her guard down. She will most surely be missed.