AceShowbiz - The tragic death of fashion designer Kate Spade has officially been ruled a suicide by hanging.

Spade, who shot to fame in the mid-1990s with her eponymous line of handbags, was found dead by her housekeeper in her New York City apartment on Tuesday, June 05.

Now a spokesperson for New York's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has confirmed she took her own life.

The medical examiner's ruling comes a day after Kate's husband and brand co-founder, Andy Spade, opened up about her struggles with mental illness.

"Kate suffered from depression and anxiety for many years," read a statement issued to People.com on Wednesday, June 06. "She was actively seeking help and working closely with her doctors to treat her disease, one that takes far too many lives. We were in touch with her the night before and she sounded happy."

"There was no indication and no warning that she would do this," it continued. "It was a complete shock. And it clearly wasn't her. There were personal demons she was battling."

Kate's father, Frank Brosnahan, has also spoken out about her unexpected death, and he hopes the open discussion about her suicide will help other troubled souls seek help before it's too late.

"One thing we feel is that any talk... (addressing support systems for mental health sufferers following her death) that helps somebody else, Katy would have liked that," Brosnahan told The Kansas City Star. "She was always giving and charitable. If that helped anybody avoid anything - fine, she'd be delighted."