Designer L'Wren Scott found dead 'in apparent suicide'

Fashion designer L'Wren Scott was found dead at a Manhattan apartment this morning in an apparent suicide, New York police said

Her partner, The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, was said to be "completely shocked and devastated" following her death.

ITV News Correspondent John Ray reports from New York:

Police said a 49-year-old female was found "unconscious and unresponsive" in an apartment building and was "pronounced dead on arrival by the emergency medical services".

"We are investigating it as a suicide," Detective Kelly Ort of the New York Police Department said.

A spokesman for the fashion designer said tonight:

One of the first to offer their thoughts and prayers to Scott's family was Bianca Jagger, Mick Jagger's first wife:

News of her death led to a flurry of tributes on Twitter from stars from many walks of life:

A spokesman said the British Fashion Council was "deeply saddened at the news of L'Wren Scott's tragic death".

"She was an iconic woman who inspired so many, and a designer whose contributions to the fashion industry were both extraordinary and unique", he added.

Scott, born Laura "Luann" Bambrough, was raised in Utah by adoptive parents and started her career as a model in Paris before becoming a stylist and designer.

Her love of fashion began when she made her own clothes as a teenager, according to her website. As a model in Paris, Scott became more interested in making clothes than modeling them.

After moving to Los Angeles, she worked as a stylist and designed privately before creating her own collection.

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