R.I.P. Kate Spade

The news came unexpectedly -- not because of timing, but because suicide was not something I ever imagined would befall fashion designer Kate Spade.

I had admired her namesake label since my early days of following fashion. Her vibrant, feminine designs dripped with sunny optimism. She became the go-to designer for women who wanted punchy, youthful handbags. Although Spade sold her company in 2006, her legacy remained with the brand and up to this day, Kate Spade continues to invoke childish glee in shoppers with fun, adorable accessories. Standing its ground against the industry's haughty exterior to declare a smile as the greatest accessory of all, Kate Spade truly is the candy of fashion.

So never did I expect Spade to have harboured such deep suffering. She is now the third prolific designer to have committed suicide in the past decade, following L'Wren Scott and Alexander McQueen. In a sense of renewed urgency, what Spade kept hidden has now shed light on the shadows of depression and mental health.

To the woman who spread happiness to others through her creations, may you R.I.P.

Image Source: Hello

An Ode to Fashion

I greet you in the morning. You stay with me throughout the day.
You let a part of me go in the evening, but I stay to wish you goodnight.

I am punk. I am classic.
I am glamorous. I am conservative.
I am minimal. I am decadent.
I am feminine, androgynous, and masculine.

I am unique.

You use me to express your moments of greatest elation.
I help you express your moments of deepest grief.
Whether to hide, or to highlight, I change when you change.

I am a tabula rasa, for the young mind, or the old soul.
I am a woman. I am a man. I am neither.
I know no boundaries, for my love reaches all.

I was there during your first kiss. I was there during your final goodbye.
I will be there for you, always.

I am extravagant, but essential.
I am ephemeral, yet everlasting.
I am anything and everything you want me to be.

I am you. I am fashion.

Image Source: Modern Mrs. Darcy