Kate Spade's 'message for daughter in suicide note'

Beloved fashion designer Kate Spade reportedly left a heartbreaking message to her teenage daughter before her body was found in her New York apartment.

A housekeeper discovered Spade’s body in her Park Avenue apartment in Manhattan after her apparent suicide on Tuesday morning (local time).

While investigators were still in the early stages of their inquiry, the department’s chief of detectives, Dermot Shea, said evidence including a note pointed to “a tragic suicide”.

News of her death shocked the fashion world and led to an outpouring of tributes from her legions of fans.

According to TMZ, the 55-year-old left a suicide note addressed directly to her 13-year-old daughter, Frances Beatrix.

“Bea – I have always loved you. This is not your fault. Ask Daddy!” the note reportedly reads.

Meanwhile Spade’s family said in a statement through a spokesman: “We are all devastated by today’s tragedy.

“We loved Kate dearly and will miss her terribly. We would ask that our privacy be respected as we grieve during this very difficult time.”

Spade’s body was found not long after 10am (local time), police said.

Her husband and business partner, Andy Spade, was in the apartment at the time, while their daughter was at school.

A crime scene truck was parked outside Spade’s building on Manhattan’s Upper East Side and barriers had been set up to keep back reporters and gawkers who were arriving to the building.

The company she founded and later sold, Kate Spade New York, now has over 140 retail shops and outlet stores across the US and more than 175 shops internationally.

Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.