It’s always jarring when a celebrity passes, and I think it’s because whether or not you personally knew them, you share memories of that person with so many other people- strangers and friends alike. When I got the text that Kate Spade has been found dead in her apartment from apparent suicide, I got immediate chills.
Snapshots by Sierra- the Bubbles & Bloggers x Kate Spade Event
My first thought was the fact that the Kate Spade brand is synonymous with happiness, colors, and glitter. It’s a happy brand, and how tragic that the founder was dealing with such sadness, whatever it was, that she felt there was no other way but to take her own life.
My second thought was, as corny as this sounds, that the Kate Spade brand had actually been there for me. I know this sounds dramatic as all get-out, but if I was having a really rough day at the law firm, I would put Moon River on in my headphones, walk across the street to Kate Spade, and look at all the pretty little things a la Holly Golightly at Tiffany & Co. when she got the mean reds. No lie, the employees there, on more than one occasion, gave me hugs and a tissue if I needed. I talked about it in this post.
Kate Spade’s brand, I think, appeals to the Holly in all of us. It’s quirky, sweet, and doesn’t always follow the rules, but rather makes its own. A perfect example of this would be my Kate Spade x Keds sneakers that I wore for my engagement pictures, and then my wedding. Dainty but kind of unexpected. (I actually got them before the official wedding collection was released… I guess it’s not *quite* as unexpected as I originally though.)
Darrell McDavid
To be frank, I didn’t know much about Kate Spade the woman and founder until today, just about the brand I love so much. I’ve started gobbling up as much information about her as I can. I know now that she’d actually stepped stepped away from the brand she helped create so she could focus on being a mother, that she started with just six bags in neutral colors and sensible shapes.
Mental health doesn’t care if you’re successful. She’d expressed anxiety of balancing work and family and I think that’s something we can all relate to. And you know what else we can do? We can listen, offer an ear for friends and family in crisis. We can address that mental health needs to go hand in hand with physical health and is just. as. important. We can tell each other that it’s OK to ask for help when we’re overwhelmed, anxious, scared, depressed, or just plain sad.
The world lost a sparkly, pink star and the creator of something truly beautiful. I hope that this opens the door for more conversation about mental health.
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