Harry Brant, the flamboyant fashion son of multimillionaire polo player Peter Brant and supermodel Stephanie Seymour, died of an accidental overdose of drugs, his family said Monday. He was young, just 24 years old.
The gender-bending bon vivant was found dead on Sunday, just days before he was scheduled to enter rehab, his parents said in a statement supplied to the media, a hip couture icon along with his older brother, Peter Jr.
“It is with enormous sorrow that we share with you the news that our beloved son, Harry Brant, lost his battle with addiction and died due to an accidental overdose of prescription medication,”was the statement made by Stephanie and Peter Brant.
“Our hearts are shattered. Harry wanted to overcome his addiction and was just days away from re-entering rehab.
“We will forever be saddened that Harry’s life was cut short by this devastating disease. We ask that you please allow our family privacy as we attempt to cope with the loss of our beautiful, beautiful boy.”
Harry and his brother were fixtures at New York City’s hottest parties and front-row attendees at top international fashion shows, often described as the male version of wealthy celebrity sisters Paris and Nicky Hilton.
“Harry loved fashion and was a trailblazer of male beauty and cosmetic products, collaborating on a unisex cosmetic line with a major brand,” his family said.
“In his 24 years, he has accomplished a lot, but we will never get the chance to see how much more Harry could have done.”
Growing up in their affluent world, Harry would walk through the family mansion on his 300-acre estate in Greenwich, Ct., complete with hundreds of horses, a polo field, and Jeff Koons’ 41-foot sculpture in the front yard, and be questioned by his father about the names of the artists whose priceless works adorned the walls, Harper’s Bazaar magazine wrote in 2014 in a family profile.
“If I got it right, I would get a dollar,” Harry told the mag.
The father of the brothers, Peter Sr., is the owner of the newsprint manufacturer White Birch Paper and Brant Publications, Inc. born in Queens, whose holdings include Interview magazine, founded by Andy Warhol. Peter Sr. is also a world-renowned collector of art and famously likes to play polo, although allegedly with a temper, earning him the nickname “polo’s John McEnroe.”
