The unsuspected and tragic death of the famous fashion designer Kate Spade left many devastated and prompted celebrities and insiders of the fashion world to express their condolences or at least pay a tribute of some kind on social media.
Shoe and apparel designer Kenneth Cole was no exception, and his reaction to the suicide of his colleague was not thoughtful.
Unfortunately, Cole’s tribute was somewhat unusual, and his words provoked a wave of a serious backlash.
What made Cole’s post so hard for fans to accept was his depiction of Spade as an inspiring accessory to the handbag world. The negative responses came in almost immediately after the controversial statement.
Cole’s remark was deemed as extremely rude and improper. Later, the designer tried to fix his mistake by posting another message, but he took too long to officially apologize for his first tribute.
He admitted that his original tweet was prone to misunderstanding and deleted it because of that. Cole also explained that he viewed Kate as a true visionary in the modern fashion industry and that her inspiring work would surely be missed.
Furthermore, Cole tried to justify his earlier words by stating he posted something that he has often heard people say.
He explained: “I often say ‘we may not heel the world, but we hope to be an accessory. Kate Spade left an indelible mark on the fashion industry, and my tweet was intended to pay tribute to her inspiring life and work. After posting the tweet, I realized there may have been room for misinterpretation.”
The 55-year-old Kate Spade was pronounced dead as a result of suicide by hanging on Tuesday, and the news took the world by surprise.
The housekeeper of her Manhattan apartment found the fashion designer’s body while her husband was present in the family home, and their daughter was still at school.