Kate Spade is being remembered as a generous employer following her death Tuesday morning.
The fashion designer was found dead at the age of 55 of an apparent suicide at her Manhattan apartment, and StarfishMedia CEO Soledad O’Brien paid tribute on Twitter to Spade’s generous nature.
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Kate Spade and Co donated handbags to our scholars, so they’d show up at their internships looking great and feeling great. They always downplayed their gift, and maybe this sounds silly, but it was a big deal for our young women to show up to an important gig with a great bag. https://t.co/EbmpfSVhxZ
— Soledad O’Brien (@soledadobrien) June 5, 2018
“Kate Spade and Co donated handbags to our scholars, so they’d show up at their internships looking great and feeling great,” O’Brien wrote. “They always downplayed their gift, and maybe this sounds silly, but it was a big deal for our young women to show up to an important gig with a great bag.”
The tweet from O’Brien came as a response to Spade’s tribute from Chelsea Clinton, who shared a fond memory of receiving her first Kate Spade handbag from her grandmother.
“My grandmother gave me my first Kate Spade bag when I was in college,” Clinton wrote. “I still have it. Holding Kate’s family, friends and loved ones in my heart.”
Following O’Brien’s message, The Mirror reports, Clinton replied to her saying: “Not silly at all. Beautiful. Thank you for sharing Soledad.”
The fashion icon is survived by husband Andy, brother to actor David Spade, and 13-year-old daughter Frances Beatrix. She is also the aunt of Marvelous Mrs. Maisel star Rachel Brosnahan.
“We are all devastated by today’s tragedy,” Kate’s family said in a statement. “We loved Kate dearly and will miss her terribly. We would ask that our privacy be respected as we grieve during this very difficult time.”
Spade is believed to have left a suicide note before her death, allegedly telling her daughter that her death had nothing to do with her.
“At this point, there was a note left. The contents of that note, as well as the physical state of the apartment and the comments of the witness, lend to the credibility that it is an apparent suicide,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea said in a press conference on Tuesday.
Kate Spade New York also released a statement, expressing its condolences to its founder’s family. Kate sold the brand in 2006.
“Kate Spade, the visionary founder of our brand, has passed,” the statement read. “Our thoughts are with her family at this incredibly heartbreaking time. We honor all the beauty she brought into this world.”
During her career, she was honored twice by the Council of Fashion Designers of America, once in 1996 as an emerging accessories designer to watch, and for the second time in 1998 as the best accessories designer of the year.
If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
