Following news of the model’s death on Wednesday morning, the global editorial director of Vogue and Condé Nast’s worldwide chief content officer shared a moving tribute about the late star in a statement to PEOPLE. Stella was the very definition of original in everything that she did and through everything she stood for,” Wintour, 71, says.
“She brought her acute intelligence and innate sense of style every time she worked with us; her presence always transcended any quotidien [daily] notion that she was just a model.” Through her long career in the industry she remained a figure of fascination and inspiration for each new generation, perhaps because of the way she effortlessly stepped in and out of it at her own choosing,” she continued.
“Stella was a wonderful collaborator and colleague to so many of us over the years, but she was never happier than when she could leave fashion behind, and return to her beloved family and friends, and to a life far away in Scotland.