The Kate Spade brand has been a red-carpet staple for more than 20 years — here are some of its most iconic moments in the spotlight

• The fashion designer Kate Spade died in an apparent suicide on Tuesday.
• Her iconic brand, Kate Spade New York, is beloved by many, including celebrities like Kate Middleton and Taylor Swift.
• The fashion label has been a red-carpet staple for more than 20 years. 

The fashion designer Kate Spade was found dead in her Manhattan apartment on Tuesday in an apparent suicide, according to various reports. She was 55.

Spade got her start in fashion as an assistant editor at Mademoiselle magazine making $14,500 a year, The New York Times reported. In 1993, she founded her namesake business, Kate Spade New York, which has more than 315 stores globally, including 140 in the US.

The fashion label has been a household name for more than 20 years, beloved by celebrities like Kate Middleton and Taylor Swift.

Here are some of the brand's most iconic red-carpet moments.

SEE ALSO: Kate Spade leaves behind her husband and business partner. Here's what we know about their relationship.

READ MORE: Kate Spade was totally detached from her namesake brand

Kate Spade founded her namesake brand in 1993. The designer set out to make handbags that could "assume the personality of the wearer, not the reverse," she told The Boston Globe in 1999. "I also wanted timelessness," she said.

Source: Racked, Boston Globe

Within the decade, Kate Spade designs were regarded as being of the same caliber as luxury brands like Gucci, Chanel, and Louis Vuitton. Fashion influencers took quickly to Kate Spade — Anna Wintour, Julia Roberts, and Gwyneth Paltrow were seen wearing the brand on red carpets.

Source: Racked

By the mid-2000s, the Kate Spade brand had become synonymous with "sophistication, freshness, and impeccable good taste," Fortune magazine said.

Source: Racked