Harry Brant, who rose to fame as a precocious teenage aesthetic with a distinctive androgynous feel and was a staple of New York’s elite fashion scene with his older brother Peter, was found dead on Sunday at the age of 24. He died of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs.
The New York Times said he had been struggling with an addiction for several years and that according to his family, he would be entering rehab soon.
Harry was the son of Stephanie Seymour, one of the original supermodels, and Peter M. Brant, the publisher and art collector. As such, he grew up in a gilded world, making his way through the world’s nightclubs, yachts and restaurants, accompanied by supermodels, celebrity photographers and social media stars.
He counted Naomi Campbell (his mother’s bridesmaid) and Courtney Love as friends. He dated his friendship with the latter to their first meeting, saying, “We were friends from the first time we met and realized we were carrying the same book on Greek mythology.”
At the age of 16, he was one of the youngest people ever to be invited to Vogue’s Met Ball Gala, wearing an embroidered Yves Saint Laurent jacket. His connections to the top of the fashion and publishing world were evident as he was asked to contribute a photo diary of the event to the fashion magazine W..
He lived in a New York City apartment with his brother Peter, and often traveled home on weekends to the family home in Connecticut, the 53-acre White Birch Stud Farm, named after Peter Brant Sr.’s White Birch newsprint production company.
Brant Sr. had an amazing art collection, including a 3 meter tall Jeff Koons sculpture, Balloon Dog (orange). The art collection is said to include more than 1,000 pieces, including works by Andy Warhol (whom he met when he was 20) Julian Schnabel, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Richard Serra.
Brant Sr. married Seymour when he was 48 and she was 26 and still the top model for Victoria’s Secret. He had her made in a nude bust by the artist Maurizio Cattelan, known as “Trophy Wife.” The piece was mounted to a wall like a hunting trophy, according to a profile of the brothers in Vanity Fair, which Harry approvingly referred to as “Little Lord Fauntleroy.” New York Magazine referred to Harry and Peter as “The prettiest teenage brothers in NYC.”
Surrounded by fashion, Harry modeled for Balmain and Italian Fashion, and co-founded a unisex make-up line with MAC, releasing collections in 2015 and 2016.
He told Vanity Fair that he liked dressing up and ‘taking on a new personality every time you go out. One time I will consider myself a captain in the military or a prince banished from his country. “
In 2016, he was arrested after he refused to pay for a cab ride in Greenwich, Conn., And charged with theft, meddling with an officer, and drug possession.
“We will be forever sad that his life was cut short by this devastating disease,” his family said in a statement. “He’s accomplished a lot in his 24 years, but we’ll never get the chance to see how much more Harry could have done.”