The fashion industry is in mourning. Eduardo Sayas, the model agent and businessman who helped shape Spain’s modeling industry and put great figures on the catwalks, died on Tuesday at the age of 54 after a long illness.
“My friend Eduardo has left us too soon,” wrote Mark Vanderloo on social media. The famous model is part of the entourage of characters that Sayas discovered and raised throughout his career. He is joined by names like Andrés Velencoso, Oriol Elcacho and Jon Kortajarena, who also mourned today the death of their friend and mentor.
Andres Velencoso with Eduardo Sayas.
Sayas took her first steps in the fashion industry as a model, but soon moved to the side of booking agents, where she found her true calling. He worked for several international agencies until he founded his own company in 2013 called Sight Management Studio. He knew how to see before anyone else the importance of building a section of male models, thus distinguishing himself from the rest of the agencies and quickly making a name for himself in the industry.
His business quickly blossomed into a consortium called Sight Group, which currently has an audiovisual production agency, Lighthouse Production representation, Clear Management modeling agency, and Sight Management Studio. Representatives include Alejandra Alonso, Baptiste Giabiconi, Noah Mills, Matthias Lauricsen, Jordan Barrett, Kate Butler, Greta Hoover, Rossy De Palma, Boris Izaguirre, Cayetano Rivera, and Adrien Brody.
“You will always be with us, Edu,” wrote a sad Andrés Velencoso on his official Instagram account, with a photo of a white dove against a black sky posted by Sayas’s colleagues from Sight Management Studio as a tribute. Oriol Elcacho, a Ralph Lauren image, was also one of the businessman’s followers. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. I love you.” How can you forget, how can you not thank you for everything. You will always be with us, rest in peace”, the model posted, mourning the death of his mentor.
“I am very sad for everything this man has done. I don’t know what Spanish fashion would be like without him,” Rossi De Palma told Carlos Puig, a contributor to La Vanguardia and friend of Sayas’s for decades. “Eduardo’s death taught me how important it is to always live and enjoy,” he said of his passing.
“I don’t know what Spanish fashion would be like without him.”
Joana Bonet, director of the magazine, wanted to pay tribute to the character of her friend and the work he did in the industry: “He loved beauty deeply. He worked hard, was ambitious and managed to change the perception of male models in Spain. He was a lively man, a good friend and above all he gave us a lesson on how to leave this world with peace, harmony and a lot of love.”
The Spanish agent with one of his friends in an archive photo
His friends, family and colleagues will be able to say goodbye to Eduardo Sayas on Saturday, August 24 at 11am at the Church of Santa Maria del Mar in Barcelona.
“Travel junkie. Coffee lover. Incurable social media evangelist. Zombie maven.”