Who Is Tales Soares? New Details About The Male Model Who Died While Walking In São Paulo Fashion Week
What caused him to collapse?
instagram Anyone who loves clothing and fashion looks forward to seeing models walk the catwalk, especially during prominent Fashion Week events. These events are exciting and usually groundbreaking for designers, but we never expect them to be heartbreaking or bring tragedy.
Unfortunately, on April 27th, a model participating in São Paulo Fashion Week collapsed on the runway and later passed away. Who is Tales Soares? At just 26 years old, Soares was signed to Base MGT modelling agency and went by the name Tales Cotta. He was popular with the agency and was also an LGBTQ rights advocate.
Shortly before entering the runway, Soares seemed to be excited and “in good spirits.” He gave a quick kiss to the model who was to follow him on the catwalk, and spoke to his family. But moments after entering the stage, he appeared to trip on his shoelace and collapsed, face-first.
Onlookers originally thought this was part of the catwalk, but paramedics quickly rushed to help. According to Brazilian newspaper Folha Press, he was foaming at the mouth after falling. Soares was rushed to the hospital and later pronounced dead.
But what caused Tales Soares’ death? His management company said he never complained about any health problems and followed a vegetarian diet. His family was also shocked at his death and weren’t aware he had any health issues.
Gabrielle Gomes, Soares’ sister, said, “Me and my mother (Heloisa) spoke to Tales by video call before the parade and he said he was well and said he had just finished eating a carrot... My mother called to find out what was going on, they said that Tales had been taken ill and hospitalized, and shortly after, the organization called again and said he had died... We’re very scared and devastated by what happened. He was very healthy, ate healthily and exercised every day. He did cross fit and yoga.”
Some doctors speculate he may have suffered from an undiagnosed birth defect.
According to his agent, Rogério Campaneli from MGT Base agency, “This has been a shocking series of events that we’re trying hard to piece together. But everything happened so suddenly and unexpectedly. Doctors suspect that Tales might have had a congenital problem. From videos, they believe he died on the catwalk. It was all so fast: he kissed a friend behind the scenes who was following him, walked out confidently as usual, then suddenly stumbled, lost his footing and fell.”
Following his passing, São Paulo Fashion Week organizers released a statement:
“SPFW has just received the news of the death of model Tales Soares, who suddenly took ill during the Ocksa show. May God welcome you with open arms! Life is definitely a catwalk, we're just passing through! Very sad!”
However, they decided to move forward with the fashion show, honoring Soares by starting each designer’s show with a moment of silence for the young model. “With this news, the organization met with the brands, directors of parades, stylists and models that had parades in the programming, and was given the option to cancel them. Even shaken, everyone decided to keep the parades,” a statement read.
We can only hope that Soares’ memory will be kept alive, and that he will be remembered for his presence on the catwalk, as well as his potential.
Samantha Maffucci is an editor for YourTango who focuses on writing trending news and entertainment pieces. In her free time, you can find her obsessing about cats, wine, and all things Vanderpump Rules.