LONDON – Stella Tennant, one of Britain’s leading models, died at the age of 50, British media reported on Wednesday.
Tennant was born in the Scottish aristocracy. Her unconventional and androgynous appearance helped her enter the fashion world in the 1990s.
She became Chanel’s new face and appeared on the covers of fashion magazines around the world.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the sudden death of Stella Tennant on December 22, 2020,” her family said in a statement to the PA news agency.
“Stella was a wonderful woman and an inspiration to all of us. She will be sorely missed.”
The BBC quoted a police spokesman as saying there were “no suspicious circumstances” surrounding his death, which occurred five days after his 50th birthday.
Away from the catwalk, Tennant campaigned to reduce the environmental impact of the fashion industry.
“It will take us a long time to change our habits, but I think this is obviously a step in the right direction,” she told the Guardian newspaper last year.
Tennant retired from the fashion industry in 1998, returning on a part-time basis to film clothing campaigns and appear on the catwalk.
She left her husband, David Lasnet, and their four children.