Kate Spade's niece Rachel Brosnahan joins brand's spring campaign

Actress Rachel Brosnahan, the star of Amazon Prime's hit show The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, was announced as the new face of the Kate Spade Frances Valentine spring campaign. Brosnahan is the niece of the late designer, who died in June at age 55.

Spade launched the Frances Valentine handbag line in 2016 along with her husband. They named the label for their daughter, Frances Beatrix. Chief executive officer Elyce Arons currently runs the line.

Frances Valentine includes a satchel style called the Midge, which Spade released in 2017, naming it for Brosnahan's character from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

Brosnahan poses with Midge handbag in one of the spring campaign images. The actress revealed the news this morning on the Today Show, mentioning how her choice to take part in the campaign is a way to pay homage to her aunt.

"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," she said on the show. "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, how much she meant not only to us, but to so many other people and the impact that she's had on the fashion industry."