Fashion designer
Kate Spade was found dead in her New York City apartment in an apparent suicide on Tuesday, the New York Police Department said.
Her body was found by a housekeeper at the Park Avenue apartment and she left a note, the New York Times reported, citing an NYPD official.
She was pronounced dead at the scene at 10.26am (12.26am Wednesday AEST).
Spade and her husband, Andy, started her namesake label, Kate Spade, in New York in 1993.
It started as a handbag company but the couple grew it into a worldwide brand selling women's clothing, jewellery and homewares.
They sold the label to Neiman Marcus Group in 2006. There are more than 300 Kate Spade stores in the US and abroad.
After selling her label, Spade continued to embody the brand's aesthetic - she often wore bright prints, thick glasses and sported a 1960s-style bouffant hairstyle. She was considered one of the first in a powerful wave of female American contemporary designers in the 1990s.
After selling their label, Kate and Andy Spade launched an accessories brand named Frances Valentine.
The couple have a 13-year-old daughter.
Designers Diane von Furstenberg and Steven Kolb issued a statement on behalf of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, paying tribute to her "immeasurable impact" on American fashion.
"The CFDA is devastated to hear the news of our friend, colleague, and CFDA member Kate Spade’s tragic passing," the statement said.
"She was a great talent who had an immeasurable impact on American fashion and the way the world viewed American accessories. We want to honour her life and her major contribution to the fashion business and express our most sincere condolences to the family."