Tatjana Patitz, a well-known supermodel who participated in George Michael’s “Freedom! ’90” music video and adorned magazine covers in the 1980s and 1990s, died at 56.
How did Tatjana Patitz die?
Patitz’s death in the Santa Barbara, California, region was verified by her Model CoOp agency’s New York representative, Corinne Nicolas. Nicolas stated that the cause was sickness but provided no additional information.
Patitz, born in Germany, reared in Sweden, and subsequently settled in California, was considered one of the “first” supermodels, featuring in Michael’s video with Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, and Cindy Crawford.
Patitz rose to prominence when In January 1990. Along with Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, and Christy Turlington, she was on the cover of British Vogue. Everybody wore Giorgio di Sant’ Angelo bodysuits and Levi pants.
Tatjana Patitz Career
It was a watershed moment in 90s fashion, captured in black and white by Peter Lindbergh. The photograph became a coronation for the “supermodels,” designating them as the ultimate icons of that decade’s popular culture. This cover piqued the interest of George Michael, who invited them to lip-sync in his legendary Freedom! ’90 music video.
Her strong-boned beauty and statuesque, athletic body made her a Chanel and Versace favourite, with whom she appeared on catwalks and in advertisements. But she kept a low profile, settling in California and staying away from the fashion party scene.
Patitz walked the Etro runway during Milan Fashion Week in 2019 and was photographed for Vogue alongside her son Jonah Johnson.
Who was Tatjana Patitz?
Patitz was born in Hamburg, Germany, to an Estonian mother and a German father who moved with her family to Skanör, a beach town in southern Sweden. She was already a competitive horse rider when she joined an elite model contest in Stockholm in 1983 and finished third. The prize was a vacation to Paris and a temporary job.
Success did not come quickly. “A celebrity was not immediately born,” according to a Vogue feature from 1988. Tatjana was unemployed for a year.”
Meeting Lindbergh would alter her professional trajectory. Patitz appeared in the German photographer’s “White Shirts: Six Supermodels, Malibu” for Vogue in 1988 before being photographed for the classic 1990 cover. He was noted for his appreciation for a “natural” aesthetic and hostility to retouching images. Patitz would later maintain long-term professional partnerships with Lindbergh, Herb Ritts, and Patrick Demarchelier.
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