Tatjana Patitz

Tatjana Patitz (25 May 1966 – 11 January 2023) was a German fashion model.

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.

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.

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 self-described eclectic and bohemian design aesthetic for residential architecture and home design in her adoptive home state of California was recognised internationally.

Patitz was born in Hamburg, West Germany, and raised in Skanör, Sweden.

Her father was German and his job as a travel journalist allowed his family to travel and live in different countries.

Patitz's mother was an Estonian dancer who performed at Le Lido in Paris.

Patitz's parents met at a wine tasting in a bodega in Spain where her mother was a student travelling with a modern dance company; Patitz said that her parents' romance was a case of two people falling in love and spending the rest of their lives together.

Patitz learned to ride horses at the age of seven.

During the summers, she found respite at her family's summer vacation home on the island of Mallorca, 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."

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."

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.

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.

She was one of the big five 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.

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 her 2012 memoir, creative director of Vogue Grace Coddington regarded Patitz as one of the original supermodels and a must in photographs and on the catwalk.

Harper's Bazaar wrote, "Indeed, 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.