Kate Spade a 'North Star' for those aspiring to be a lifestyle brand

Carly Heitlinger remembers walking through Manhattan, gazing longingly at the store windows along Fifth Avenue.

She had her heart set on a pink, boxy nylon bag called the Sam. Sam, designed by Kate Spade, was all Heitlinger wanted, she recalled Tuesday in an interview with The Record and NorthJersey.com.

But before she could get Sam, her mom thought she should know who designed the bag.

"I was way too young for handbags," said Heitlinger, a Hoboken-based style blogger whose site, Carly the Prepster, commands an international audience. "I remember my mom explaining who Kate Spade was and what designer bags were."

Kate Spade, a designer most famous for her handbags, including the Sam, died by suicide in her Manhattan apartment Tuesday morning. A former editor for Mademoiselle, she was exasperated by the heavily accessorized handbags in fashion at the time and decided to design her own. They would be simple. They would be practical. And they would become wildly popular. 

Spade was among the first designers to have a product line named after them. Since then, designers like Tory Burch, Alexander Wang and Marc Jacobs have proliferated, inspired by Spade.

And Spade promoted her new company — formed with her husband and a friend — by promoting the lifestyle. She was among the first successful women to do so. Her death leaves a resounding impact on the fashion world, but also for social media influencers and bloggers who aspire to make themselves into a lifestyle brand.

While studying business at Georgetown University, Heitlinger took inspiration from Spade's example.

"I've been building this business around this idea of a person," Heitlinger said. "And whenever I would kind of sit down either with a mentor or in business school, time and time again the example that people would point to is Kate Spade. She was kind of like a North Star."

Christina Adamo, a handbag specialist for Neiman Marcus, said Spade was the designer of her formative years. Adamo, a Hackensack resident and Paramus native, said Spade had a way of reinventing herself while staying true to her style.

Spade was a visionary and will be missed in the fashion world, Adamo said.

"For me it was the first thing that I can really remember wanting was one of her bags," Adamo said. "Every single girl in my school had one, and it was the sort of thing I had to beg my parents for."

Spade's eye for color helped set her apart, fashion blogger Jessica Lisboa said. As a fellow mother and fashionista, Lisboa said she often felt inspired by Spade. Receiving her first bag designed by Spade as a gift was also a big moment for Lisboa. 

"It was a really special bag, because I remember thinking, 'I made it,' " Lisboa said, describing her feeling of success. 

She also offered her condolences to Spade's family.

"It was really sad to see," she said, "and it was just a reminder, honestly — when you think people have it all, you don’t know what’s lying underneath."

To get help

If you are contemplating or having thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources.