Who was Tina Chow, and how this style icon still shapes the fashion scene
Supermodel, jewellery designer, clothes collector and trendsetter threw away the rulebook and went on to make a lasting impression on the fashion world
While everyone else back in the ’70s and ’80s was in the disco groove – with its glitzy and glamorous styles – world-famous model Tina Chow stood out from the crowd with her handsome Eton crop hairstyle and her minimalist approach to fashion. She owned hundreds of designer clothes. However, jeans and T-shirt were often her favourite outfit. She was never a fashion follower, but always a leader and a trendsetter.
Born Bettina Louise Lutz, the supermodel, jewellery designer and fashion collector, was married to restaurateur Michael Chow in 1972 and became known professionally as Tina Chow.
Her brilliant life was cut tragically short by Aids in 1992, but her legacy is still celebrated to this day.
Inventor of minimal chic
Chow was born in 1950 in Ohio, the United States, and moved to Japan in 1966. Half Japanese, half American-German, she was first discovered by a modelling agent at the age of 16 and modelled for Shiseido, a leading cosmetics company in Japan. Chow soon found herself working at fashion shows, appearing on the covers of major magazines, and featuring in numerous advertisements.
The world of fashion had been preoccupied with blond, long-haired models and American looks throughout the late ’60s, but when Chow came along, her Eurasian beauty and androgynous style had a major impact, and helped redefine approaches to fashion and modelling.