Tatjana Patitz

Biography

Tatjana Patitz (25 May 1966 – 11 January 2023) was a German supermodel. She achieved international prominence in the 1980s and 1990s representing fashion designers on runways and in magazines such as Elle, Harper's Bazaar, and Vogue. She was one of the "Big 5" supermodels who appeared in the 1990 music video "Freedom! '90" by George Michael, and she was associated with the editorial, advertising, and fine-art works of photographers Herb Ritts and Peter Lindbergh. In the book Models of Influence: 50 Women Who Reset The Course of Fashion, author Nigel Barker reviewed Patitz's career during the height of the supermodel era in the 1980s and 1990s, writing that she possessed an exoticism and broad emotional range that set her apart from her peers. In her 2012 memoir, Vogue creative director Grace Coddington called Patitz one of the original supermodels and a must in photographs and on the catwalk. Harper's Bazaar wrote, "Patitz's features almost confuse. Like Garbo or the Mona Lisa, the inexplicable gifts of line and luminescence defy definition." Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour stated that Patitz had always been one of her favourite models. Patitz's work bridged the eras of the exhibitionist 1980s and the minimalist 1990s in an enduring way, as Barker concluded, "The most lasting images of her are when she was really looking like herself." Author Linda Sivertsen noted that Patitz is greatly responsible for establishing the acceptance of statuesque and curvaceous beauty in an industry of extreme thinness. Patitz was an avid horsewoman who continued her lifelong passion for animals and the environment by campaigning for ecological causes and animal rights. Her design aesthetic for residential architecture and home design in her adoptive home state of California was recognised internationally.

== Early life == Patitz was born in the German city of Hamburg. At the time, Hamburg was part of West Germany. Her father was a German travel writer, and her mother was an Estonian dancer. Patitz grew up primarily in Skanör, Sweden. She learned to ride horses at the age of seven and spent summers at her family's vacation home on Mallorca, Spain, where she participated in horse camps. About her love of horses, Patitz said, "I have been riding since I was a small child. For me, it means freedom, connectedness, and dedication. Horses transform stress and worry for me. They are genuine and spiritual. They make me happy and relaxed, especially if I feel pressured or tense."

== Career ==

=== 1980s === In 1983 at the age of 17, Patitz entered and became a finalist in the Elite Model Look (formerly known as Elite Models' "Look of the Year" contest), and based on a Polaroid, she was placed third by Elite Model Management founder John Casablancas. Patitz won a contract and moved to Paris to begin working as a model. Though not an immediate success, by 1985, Patitz worked regularly and at the end of that year, she modelled for the cover of British Vogue, her first major cover. Also that year she began to work with photographer Peter Lindbergh with whom she cultivated a 30-year collaborative relationship which contributed to the launch of the supermodel era. In his book, 10 Women, Lindbergh wrote, "I admire Tatjana because she always stays herself. She's very soft, but at the same time she's very strong and knows how to stand up for what she thinks, and it's always very enriching to be with her. It's impossible not to admire her and over the years not to be just a little bit in love with her." Patitz's success in Europe, which included an editorial for the 1985 September issue of French Vogue by master photographer Horst P. Horst, led her to New York City where she worked for American Vogue and such photographers as Irving Penn, Helmut Newton, Steven Meisel, Denis Piel, Sheila Metzner, and Wayne Maser. She also worked with Gilles Bensimon at Elle and Francesco Scavullo at Cosmopolitan. The December 1985 issue of Vogue featured Irving Penn's photograph, "Colored Contact Lenses", showing Patitz wearing contact lenses over closed eyelids. The image would later be featured in the 1992 book On The Edge: Images from 100 Years of Vogue as one of the iconic photographs of the era. In 1986, she appeared on two covers of the Italian edition of Vogue and continued to be featured in editorials in the American and British editions of Vogue. Patitz appeared in campaigns for Calvin Klein photographed by Bruce Weber, and in 1987 for Revlon's "The Most Unforgettable Women in the World" campaign photographed by Richard Avedon. Avedon also photographed Patitz for her first cover of American Vogue (May 1987), which is regarded as one of the definitive covers of the 1980s. Vogue began regularly including Patitz's name on the pages of fashion editorials as early as 1987, familiarising readers not only with her face, but also with her personality. "What immediately strikes me about her is her extraordinary kindness and her star quality," stated photographer Antoine Verglas. When Tiffany's celebrated its 150th anniversary in 1987, Patitz appeared on the cover of their magazine's special issue with ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov and she was named the model discovery of the year for her gleaming and radiant looks. During this period, Patitz met Los Angeles-based photographer Herb Ritts, with whom she shared another significant and enduring collaboration in fashion, fine art, and commercial work, like a muse playing any role he suggested—mermaid, sprite, surfer girl, plainswoman, movie star. Ritts said of Patitz, "Her features are a bit off; she's not a typical, commercial beauty, but when I shoot her, I'm never bored. Her looks have power, strength, intensity." Patitz is the subject of Tatjana Veiled Head (Tight View), Joshua Tree 1988, one of Ritts' most celebrated works. As Patitz's career escalated, she was credited with expanding ideals of female beauty. Patitz and a select group of individual-looking, business-minded, high-profile fashion models emerged and came to be known as the original supermodels. An image of Patitz with other models laughing on the beach was photographed by Peter Lindbergh for Vogue during this period. Titled "White Cotton Shirts", the photograph is regarded as an iconic fashion photograph and was accompanied by an article that singled out Patitz for her "astonishing presence", praising her "uncosmeticised womanliness, new and important in the 1980s."

At just shy of six feet tall, Teutonically self-composed, and dominating any room she cared to walk into [sic], Tatjana was the biggest beast in the seething jungle; Vogue amplified the comparison by fixating on her lynx-like eyes, impossibly blue and curved around the temples like a cat's. In another 1988 Vogue article titled "Tatjana: Million Dollar Beauty", Patitz's creative team shared their impressions of her: "In pictures, her sensitivity is what comes through; something delicate, fragile, exciting. It's a strange mixture of lazy sensuality and moments of intense emotion," said John Casablancas, president of Elite Model Management. "It's hard to get a bad picture of Tatjana. She's very photogenic, which is very rare, and she looks different in every light," added photographer Patrick Demarchelier. "While some models develop one look, she has many." Her versatility was exemplified by her ever-changing hair color and style with each passing year – from short-haired brunette to tawny mane to long and blond. For an April 1989 editorial titled "Earthly Powers" in British Vogue, hair stylist Didier Malige cut and restyled Patitz's foot-long blonde hair into a cropped shag just above her shoulders. Considered by some industry insiders as a drastic mistake, the risk paid off. "Once I cut my hair – I cried for two months," Patitz told Esquire. "People said, 'We can't believe she cut her hair.'" But the move won Patitz covers of British and French editions of Vogue featuring her new look. The pinnacle of that year came in July and August when Patitz was awarded with consecutive covers of American Vogue. Being on Vogue's cover two months in a row was a rare achievement for a model of that time and an innovation for the recently revamped Vogue under the leadership of new editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. This period was the zenith of Patitz's career, known as "the era of Tatjana" in the fashion industry – a whirlwind time when she seemed destined to walk away with the title of supermodel herself. Britain's SKY Magazine called Patitz the first German supermodel and noted that her success led the Elite agency to open a branch in Germany." At this point, being in such demand required constant travel for Patitz, who flew 40 flights in one month alone. In an effort to live a healthier and more balanced lifestyle, Patitz began slowing down her modelling career to focus on other creative pursuits such as writing, acting, and meditation. She relocated to California and made Los Angeles her homebase. The move afforded Patitz, who had always searched for creative and spiritual growth, the time and space to develop other aspects of her life.

I don't want to do anything for fame or money or glamour or anything like that...I think people are coming to a higher awareness in the world. Everything is polluted – the oceans, the forests ... and people are killing each other all over the place without realizing that we all belong together and have to share this place. Maybe I'm dreaming, but I'm hopeful.

=== 1990s === In the final months of 1989, Patitz was photographed with her peers in two group portraits that would become defining images of the forthcoming supermodel era of the 1990s: Stephanie, Cindy, Christy, Tatjana, Naomi, Hollywood by Herb Ritts; and Peter Lindbergh's cover of the January 1990 issue of British Vogue. The international press began recognising supermodels as the icons of the day, noting that female ideals were no longer only dictated by fashion editors or reflective of male fantasies – but representative of where women stand now and what they aspire to. 1990 began with Patitz gracing the January covers of both American and British Vogue. She shared the British Vogue cover with Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, and Christy Turlington; the portrait of the five women is regarded as the cover that sparked the supermodel phenomenon of the 1990s, helping each woman attain global appeal. The accompanying article proclaimed that each woman – in her early 20s and already million-dollar-plus a year earners – was emphatically individual, conforming less to a formula, and united by a confidence born of maturity. The January British Vogue cover inspired singer George Michael to cast Patitz, Crawford, Evangelista, Turlington, and Campbell in his music video for the song "Freedom! '90" which was directed by David Fincher. Michael did not appear in the video; instead, each woman would lip-synch the song in Michael's place. While Patitz and her co-stars were already the top stars in the fashion world, they won major recognition for their beauty and charisma outside of it too. The music video was programmed into heavy rotation on MTV, going on to transcend the worlds of pop culture, music, and fashion in the 1990s and remaining influential and iconic in the decades to come. The media dubbed Crawford, Campbell, Turlington, Evangelista, and Patitz "the big five."

Settled in Los Angeles, Patitz continued to manage her modelling career while studying acting. She worked with Ritts, Lindbergh, and Maser but was sought after by the industry's leading female photographers such as Peggy Sirota, Ellen Von Unwerth, Pamela Hanson, and Sheila Metzner as well as new photographers such as Mario Sorrenti and Juergen Teller. Los Angeles-based photographers Phillip Dixon and Matthew Rolston also frequently photographed Patitz for Harper's Bazaar. Rolston said of Patitz: "I look for more than beauty. There must be a memorable quality. Tatjana has it more than anyone else. She sticks in your mind. There's a depth, an emotional quality to her that's truly extraordinary. She's very dear, charming and extremely feminine. She's very open and her priorities are natural things – animals, the sea, the environment. That's what's so interesting about her. She's not what she seems." As the decade progressed, Patitz worked in advertising campaigns and on runways for fashion houses as Chanel, Versace, Salvatore Ferragamo, Valentino, Karl Lagerfeld, Helmut Lang, Donna Karan, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Vivienne Westwood. Perhaps most notably, Patitz was the long-standing face of Jil Sander, representing the designer's minimalist style in ad campaigns photographed by Nick Knight. Patitz shared another cover with the supermodels of the era for the centennial issue of Vogue (April 1992) photographed by Patrick Demarchelier. Also in 1992, it was announced that Patitz had won an exclusive cosmetics contract with Germaine Monteil makeup and perfumes. In an interview with Harper's Bazaar, Monteil's Vice-President of Marketing Worldwide, Susan Wells noted that the cosmetics company searched for a woman with a globally recognised name and beauty who had an accessible face that women could relate to. That year, New York magazine named Patitz one of the top 10 supermodels in the world, epitomising modern beauty and grace – and changing monolithic ideals of perfection. As of 1997 Patitz had appeared on over 200 magazine covers worldwide, including seven covers of American Vogue and thirteen covers of British Vogue. French, Italian, German, Spanish, and Australian editions of Vogue have also featured Patitz on their covers and in editorials photographed by photographers such as Max Vadukul, Sante D'Orazio, Mikael Jannson, Arthur Elgort, Hans Feurer, Walter Chin, and Javier Vallhonrat. International editions of Vogue and Elle have also profiled Patitz for her signature home design and decor style including a cover story for the April 1997 edition of Elle Decor UK.