The handbag and fashion designer Kate Spade has been found dead in New York in an apparent suicide at her home, according to law enforcement officials.
Officials say the body of the 55-year-old businesswoman was found by housekeeping staff inside her Park Avenue apartment at about 10.20am on Tuesday. They say she left a note at the scene. The officials were not authorized to divulge details of the investigation and spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Spade created a line of sleek handbags in the early 1990s that created a smash on the world fashion scene.
Her company, Kate Spade New York, has more than 140 retail shops and outlet stores across the US and more than 175 shops internationally. She sold the last of her shares in that company in 2016 and launched a new fashion brand called Frances Valentine.
