Patitz's fellow supermodels have honored her with emotional tributes following her untimely death.
An angel is being remembered by her fellow supermodels.
Following news of '90s supermodel Tatjana Patitz's untimely death at 56 after battling breast cancer, her runway colleagues took to social media, honoring her with touching tributes. Among them were fellow fashion icons like Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, Claudia Schiffer and Helena Christensen -- many of whom starred with Patitz in Georgia Michael's legendary music video, "Freedom! '90."
"So sad to hear of the passing of the beautiful @tatjanapatitz," Crawford wrote in her Instagram post. "We were babies together in the fashion industry and I feel like we grew up together. We were in so many shoots together and backstage at shows. I found her soft-spoken, sensitive, kind, inquisitive and, who could ever forget those piercing eyes. Her love of animals and nature was infectious. Sending my condolences to her family — especially the son she adored. RIP."
Christy Turlington fondly remembered her first encounter with Patitz when she traveled to Paris alone for a Vogue shoot. "I was a 16 year old high school student from Northern California who was permitted to leave school to travel alone to Paris for the first time for this special opportunity. I would stay at the Hotel Crillon for a night before meeting up with the rest of the team on location the following day. Tatjana was already living in Paris at the time and had been given the assignment, or chore, of collecting me on the way to the airport," she recalled. "My first introduction to Tatjana was over the hotel lobby phone. 'Where are you? We are going to be late!' She said. I was sad to leave my beautiful room after such a short stay but definitely did not want to get on the bad side of anyone. Not on this trip, and especially not Tatjana Patitz. It wasn’t until we got to Charles de Gaulle that she started to relax and speak to me. By the time we got to our hotel in Cannes, she invited me to her hotel room, where we drank mini bar champagne, ate Toblerone chocolates and smoked cigarettes while she talked to her French boyfriend over the phone. Tatjana was always a vision. Glamorous, sophisticated, and warm, once she let you in. I could have watched her smoke cigarettes and speak in any of the many languages she was fluent in all day. Who needed to work? I was learning how an international woman behaved and moved in the world in real time. Tatjana took me in, under her wing. I stayed in her apartment for a night in Paris on my way home on the floor of her cool pied de terre on the left bank. You are unforgettable and are forever in my heart."
Campbell similarly remembered her first meeting with the "earth angel" as a teenager. "When I met you at 16 at the Alaia show, I remember just saying 'wow!!' Your presence and stature. Your eyes and nervous shy smile, goddess energy that we were all drawn to…My first time in LA I got to experience it with you, showing me the sites and beaches, driving around in your red Volkswagen convertible. Blaring the Sign of the Times… It was that trip where you introduced me to Herb Ritts, who called you Tatski. I’ll forever be grateful and cherish the beautiful memories," she wrote. "My deepest condolences to Jonah, Sophie, family and loved ones. May you have eternal peace… You’re up with Papa 🕊️🕊️💔🕊️🕊️🙏🏾 #GoneTooSoon #RIP."
"Beautiful Tatjana, you were such a divine spirit inside out," Christensen praised. "Always graceful and calm with that those wonderful smiling eyes. We went on so many trips together from such a young age and shared incredible memories. I loved being around you, it felt so peaceful and we always laughed a lot. I am grateful we kept in touch till the end, it made me smile just now reading through our texts realizing they’re mostly about our love for nature. I hope you’re riding on a horse in endless meadows with that smile on your face and the wind blowing in your hair ♥️♥️♥️ RIP beautiful angel 🕊️."
As for Schiffer, she had one sweet wish for her fellow super. "I’m so sad to hear that @TatjanaPatitz has passed away. She was a true member of the supermodel gang and it’s hard to comprehend that someone so young has left us. My thoughts and prayers are with her family. She was a joy to work with — so grounded yet always elevated," she shared. "I hope she has horses and dogs in heaven. She will be greatly missed."
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