The fashion industry is mourning the death of 27-year-old Croatian Australian model Lucy Markovic, who died Friday following complications of a brain arteriovenous malformation.
A serious condition where abnormal blood vessels in the brain become tangled, AVM can potentially cause bleeding or brain damage. Last month — in a since deleted, but widely reported Instagram post — Markovic told her social media audience that she required surgery on April 2 for an AVM “the size of a golf ball.”
Markovic had a brief career, first rising to prominence in Australia in 2015 as a 17-year-old from Queensland’s Gold Coast who placed runner-up in the ninth season of reality TV show “Australia’s Next Top Model.” In May 2016 she made her Australian Fashion Week debut at the resort 2017 collections showcase.
She made her international debut at the spring 2023 shows, booking exclusives for Versace and Givenchy, in later seasons walking for, among others, Dolce & Gabbana, Bally, Brandon Maxwell and Dion Lee. Her advertising campaigns included Versace, Victoria Beckham Holiday and Emporio Armani.
She was a particular favorite of the Armani group, walking in six of its shows including for Emporio Armani, Giorgio Armani and Armani Privé. Editorial work included Italy’s Grey magazine; Vogue Hong Kong, Singapore and Korea; W; Vanity Fair Italia; Harper’s Bazaar Arabia: Numéro Netherlands, and Australia’s Side-Note.
Donatella Versace lead the tributes to Markovic on her Instagram Stories, posting photos of her in Versace’s fall 2023 show and the Versace spring 2023 campaign. Versace added, “I am so sorry to hear the news about @lucymarkovicc. Rest in peace beautiful girl.”
“Today, we lost a star,” posted Markovic’s Australian mother agency Kult Australia. “We are deeply saddened by the passing of Lucy. She was radiant, warm and a beautiful soul. We will cherish being part of her journey.”
Elite Model Management in New York posted a three-tile tribute. “Modeling was one of Lucy’s dreams, and we are deeply honored to have been part of that journey with her,” the agency wrote. “She brought elegance, strength, and beauty to her work. But more than that, she brought herself — her warmth, her laughter, her light.”
Markovic is also being mourned by the Australian sporting community, the Gold Coast Knights Football Club joining in the tributes on its Instagram and Facebook pages by posting a photo of a teenage Markovic in club uniform surrounded by her former teammates.
“It is with the deepest and most profound sadness that we share with the Knights family the passing of Lucy Markovic, a former junior player of the club and much loved member of the Gold Coast Croatian community,” the club wrote.
The club said its senior men’s and women’s teams would mark a minute of silence for Markovic this weekend.
