Kenneth Cole Deletes His Kate Spade Tweet

After news of Kate Spade's death broke, designer Kenneth Cole took to Twitter to post an #RIP message. It didn't go over well. "'I believed that I could, so I did.' She alone didn’t change the handbag world but she was an inspiring accessory," he wrote in the since-deleted tweet, which was slammed as tone-deaf and worse. He then posted a follow-up that called her a "true visionary."

People reports he attempted to explain the thought process behind his initial tweet, in a statement issued to the Daily Mail that didn't include words of apology: "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." (More Kate Spade stories.)