The tragic death of L’Wren Scott was reported on Monday, 17th March 2014 in the morning. Scott who was found dead after hanging herself in her Manhattan apartment was said to be distraught and embarrassed over her failing business, as she owes over almost $6 million to creditors.
The 49-year-old designer was found by her assistant and there was no immediate suspicion of foul play though the formal report has yet to be released from the Medical Examiner.
Scott’s suicide comes after she was forced to cancel her London Fashion Week show at the last minute in January, which she blamed on production problems. It has been revealed that Scott, who had always refused financial help from boyfriend, Mick Jagger, was bleeding cash.
The latest accounts for her business, filed in the UK in October 2013, show that the company, LS Fashion LTD, had a deficit of $5,899,548, with the designer owing creditors $7.641 million. However, over the recent years, her company’s debts had doubled year-on-year – a downward spiral that showed no sign of stopping. In 2009, the debt stood at $2,120,015.67, and by 2010 it had grown to $3,063,160.87.
Issues surrounding her company which was build in July 2006, was the real reason behind the cancellation of her show, a source said, as Scott could not afford to put on the fashion show.
Records show that Scott’s apartment was bought for $5.6million in 2010 by a holding company called Scottland Management. A 2012 mortgage for $1.25million was paid off last year.
A fashion source said: “L’Wren was in a lot of financial trouble. She was unable to pay her staff and her suppliers and it had been going on for a very long period of time. She wanted so badly for things to be a success. Whereas she got her outfits on a number of high profile people, the clothes were not a commercial hit and didn’t fly off the shelves. It was a huge burden on her and she didn’t want to fail. Everyone was very much left wondering why she didn’t ask Mick for help. But she didn’t. Things were left a long time and she spent the past few months struggling to pay the vast amount of her out goings. It was a tragic situation and she kept it from everyone. Her staff expected the company to go under and her fabric suppliers and tailors were close to ending their working relationship. The bills just weren’t getting paid.”