An ode to Kate Spade

On Tuesday, the world learned that Kate Spade died after taking her own life.
First, I want to start by saying please reach out for help in your own way whenever you need it. You are not alone. If you need help, you can call or chat online with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline or find resources on campus.
Second, I want to go into the mark Spade has made on my life. As materialistic as fashion can be, Spade’s designs brought joy, whimsy and professionalism all at the same time. Her products were often out of my college price range, but I was always drawn to them.
In a world where I doubted being a journalist as people told me newspapers were a dying breed, her New York Journal clutch, tote bag and tumbler assured me news was trendy, needed and appreciated. Just like the world may doubt the need for $500 purses that I don’t have, Spade’s products told their own stories and held value outside of a capitalistic society.
One of her lines was an ode to books, a notebook featuring a shelf lined with books including classics “Pride and Prejudice” and “Gulliver’s Travels.”
Like newspapers, her brand could be one of tradition and creativity. Spade was one of the first things I saw when I came on a UF tour as a high school senior. In the bookstore while I waited for my time to view campus, I perused the bottom level and saw Spade’s products on the shelf among other stationery, lanyards and water bottles. My mom got me a notebook that I still have saved to use for a special project, when that time comes.
My first big purchase was saving up my money to buy myself a proper wallet versus a square with a money slot, a couple of card spaces and Velcro before college. Many other shoppers share a connection with Spade and their first purchase, as the Glamour article “My First Kate Spade: 12 Women on How the Designer Impacted Their Personal Style” highlights.

My other graduation gifts were other Spade products, a zippered pencil pouch, highlighters and a spiral-bound notebook for the journalism student-to-be.
Spade also has a Gator collection that seems to ironically tie the trail of my journey to UF and journalism together. Spade herself once wanted to be a journalist.
On the “How I Built This” podcast interview with Guy Raz from last year, Spade and her husband told their story of hard work, perseverance and being resourceful to make the company work. These same skills can apply to reporting on a story.
She left a mark on many lives, including mine, most of which she probably never met. Her combination of sleek, modern products and bold, colorful products brought assurance and jubilance to many people and probably hid the turmoil within herself as a self-described “nervous person.”

On the Spade website, a black screen with white type reads:

“Kate Spade, the visionary founder of our brand, has passed. Our thoughts are with her family at this incredibly heartbreaking time. We honor all the beauty she brought into this world.”

Regardless of whether you are a fashion fanatic, design dabbler or just any old shopper who has never heard of Spade, you might be able to appreciate the tale of a woman’s rise to the top of fashion, entrepreneurship, dedication and loss. The real truth behind this story is everyone is just human and though their brand may embody them, it doesn’t reveal the sad dualities of them.

In this time, I appreciate Spade’s journey and legacy and hope it will help create more change for a world under stress and stigma.

Sophie Feinberg is a UF journalism junior. Her column comes out Tuesday and Thursday.