US fashion designer Kate Spade has been found dead in her New York apartment.
She is reported to have taken her own life.
She was found by housekeeping staff inside her Park Avenue apartment at about 10.20am local time today, law enforcement officials said.
They said she left a note at the scene.
Spade, 55, was well-known in fashion circles, having launched her line of handbags in 1993 and then branching out to a full clothing and jewellery line.
The company, Kate Spade New York, which she sold in 2007, has more than 140 retail shops and outlet stores across the US and more than 175 shops internationally.
BREAKING: Law enforcement officials: Fashion designer Kate Spade found dead in New York in apparent suicide.
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 5, 2018