Kate Spade

Kate Brosnahan first met Andy Spade in 1983 while they were in college. Later, they worked together at the Mademoiselle. Love sprouted between the two and finally they tied the nuptials in 1994. The couple welcomed their daughter, Frances Beatrix Spade, in February 2005.

On 5 June 2018, Kate Spade was found dead in her Manhattan apartment by her maid. She had committed suicide by hanging herself.

Kate Spade was born as Katherine Noel Brosnahan on December 24, 1962 in Kansas City, Missouri. She is of Irish descent.

Kate Spade attended St. Teresa's Academy, an all-girl Catholic high school. Thereafter, she attended the University of Kansas for some time and then transferred to Arizona State University, from where she graduated with a degree in journalism, in 1985.

In 1986, Kate Spade found work in the accessories department of Mademoiselle in Manhattan. She was then known by her maiden name Kate Brosnahan. While at Mademoiselle, she moved in with Andy Spade, a native of Scottsdale, Arizona.

At Mademoiselle, Spade’s talent was acknowledged as she grew from being a mere designer to senior fashion editor and eventually head of accessories. While working at Mademoiselle, Spade soon realized the dearth of stylish yet sensible handbags in market. Handbag, until then, was not an explored genre of accessories and there was a lack of fashion sense being applied to them. They were plain and simple keeps for holding necessities while at go.

With an earnest desire to start up an entrepreneurship to give her creative energies a new direction, Spade left Mademoiselle in 1991. She decided to create her own range of stylish and chic handbags. Together with Andy Spade, she was a team, both professionally and personally.

Debuting with just six silhouettes, Kate Spade launched her own brand of handbags. What made her handbags distinct from those in the market was their modern yet stylish approach. They were sleek with bouts of colour and available in utilitarian shapes.

In 1996, with increasing demand, ‘Kate Spade Handbags’ was born in a plush area in Manhattan's trendy SoHo district. The first boutique, a 400-square-foot shop, was a hit in the fashion circle. Eventually, she moved its headquarters into a 10,000-square-foot space in West 25th Street.

The breakthrough in Spade’s career came in when she started her flagship brand of handbags. Realizing the dearth of having stylish, modern yet sensible handbags in the market, Spade quit her promising career at Mademoiselle to start her own venture with her future husband Andy Spade. Thus, Kate Spade Handbags was launched which rewrote the meaning of owning ‘fashionable handbags’. Today known as Kate Spade & Company, the company has become one of the internationally renowned brands. The chain has extended its product range from only handbags to clothing, jewellery, shoes, stationery, eyewear, baby items, fragrances, bedding and so on.