Kate Spade, designer of clothing, handbags, shoes and more, is dead at 55 from an apparent suicide. She leaves behind a daughter and husband. via NYTimes:Kate Spade, one of the first of a powerful wave of female American contemporary designers in the 1990s, built a brand on the appeal of clothes and accessories that made women smile. Her cheerful non-restraint struck a chord with consumers, as did her bright prints. She herself was the embodiment of her aesthetic, with her proto-1960s bouffant,