Rachel Brosnahan is continuing her late Aunt Kate Spade’s legacy in her new Frances Valentine Campaign.
Rachel is best known for her starring role on Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. She revealed Wednesday in a Today show interview that she would star in the fashion campaign and added: “I think when you lose someone you love very, very much, you spend a lot of time trying to think about how to keep their spirit alive,” Brosnahan told Today‘s Hoda Kotb. “I think in Katy’s case, there is so much of her left behind, and this was an opportunity for us to celebrate her life and her legacy.”
Incase you are not aware, Kate Spade died last June at only 55 due to suicide. This sparked another frenzy of media attention on mental health which is currently a hotly debated topic in political and social circles. Before Kate Spade’s death she launched this new brand along side her husband Andy Spade, they named the brand after thier daughter, Frances Beatrix. The upcoming spring line was designed by Kate Spade’s close friend and now-Frances Valentine CEO Elyce Arons.
According to Brosnahan, Spade’s love for her family inspired much of the new collection. “I know that Kate had always talked about being inspired by my grandmother June, her mother, ripping things straight out of her closet,” she said. “And I feel like that spirit still lives on as well, so it’s really lovely to see those special pieces of our family be reflected in this collection and the ones before.” Kate Spade previously named one of her namesake handbag designs “Rachel” after her niece. Prior to her death, she named a Frances Valentine bag the “Midge,” after Brosnahan’s beloved TV character.