The fashion world received some devastating news on Tuesday when it became known that Kate Spade was found dead in her Manhattan apartment. Here’s everything we know about the apparent Kate Spade suicide.
The designer was famous for her line of shoes, purses and accessories bearing her name. Last year, she sold that line to accessories maker Coach Inc. for a big sum — $2.4 billion. Prior to that, it had also been owned by department store chain Neiman Marcus and Liz Claiborne.
But, Ms. Spade didn’t see any of the profits from the sale to Coach because although the line still had her name, she hadn’t been affiliated with it since 2006. She more recently had started a new line of accessories named Frances Valentine.
Ms. Spade was found hanging from a scarf at her tony Park Avenue apartment, news reports say.
The fashion world may seem glamorous on the surface, but behind the scenes the industry can be an ugly one. Designers are often hanging by a thread financially, with many going bankrupt. Retail has also taken a hit as consumers change their shopping habits toward experiential spending and move to places like Amazon.com. In 2014, another famous designer L’Wren Scott took her own life because of financial troubles.
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