In the music video that upgraded models to celebrities,Evangelista was the chameleon,Crawford the all-American pin-up,Campbell the trailblazer and Turlington perfection,according to the 90s standard of beauty – but Patitz was my favourite. Her name didn’t become a brand,like Elle (Macpherson),Claudia (Schiffer) and Kate (Moss),but that was part of the attraction. Liking Patitz,along with Marpessa Hennink,Karen Alexander and Yasmeen Ghauri,separated you from fashion dilettantes.
As a 14-year-old thumbing through USVogue,I felt like a model scout when I discovered Patitz in a 1987 advertisement for Revlon,alongside Iman and Jerry Hall. It was crush at first sight because of her almond-shaped eyes,symmetrical features,milkmaid skin and vowel-laden name.
I wasn’t alone,with USVogue editor Anna Wintour part of the fan club.
“Tatjana was always the European symbol of chic,like Romy Schneider-meets-Monica Vitti,” Wintoursaid inVogue’sreport of Patitz’s death. “She was far less visible than her peers — more mysterious,more grown-up,more unattainable — and that had its own appeal.”
Patitz scored countlessVogue covers with photography greats Peter Lindbergh and Herb Ritts,a role in a 1988 Levi’s commercial opposite male model Bruce Hulse that was banned in the UK and lucrative campaigns for Chanel and L’Oréal. On the airbrushed surface there is very little for me to cry about.
I felt a similar loss,whensupermodel Stella Tennant,granddaughter of Deborah Mitford,the Duchess of Devonshire,died by suicide in December 2020. The indie aristocratic Tennant,who worked with Versace,Alexander McQueen and Chanel,never reached crush status,my heart was already taken,but I felt robbed.