Shock death of Sydney fashion designer Edwina Horseman, 36

Family and friends are mourning the shock death of 36-year-old Sydney fashion designer Edwina Horseman, who was found dead at her home, Annette Sharp reveals.

The family and friends of Sydney fashion designer Edwina Horseman are mourning the fashionista’s shocking death last week at age 36.

Horseman was the creative designer and powerhouse behind luxe cashmere and fur label H Brand.

For many years she was also one of Sydney’s most feted young designers and counted among her friends a host of fashionable Sydneysiders including Roxy Jacenko, celebrity stylist Jo Ferguson and lawyer turned stockbroker Ellie Aitken.

The designer’s grieving family closed ranks in the days after Horseman’s body was found in her Bellevue Hill home on Monday.

Friends have told The Saturday Telegraph the designer had been battling a long-term illness. It’s understood she also had a pre-existing cardiac condition and at age 22 had suffered a heart attack.

Horseman’s death comes a year after the businesswoman separated from her partner, Joe Dahdah, the fortysomething scion to the 85-year-old uniform and apparel manufacturer Joseph Dahdah Apparel.

Edwina Horseman was found dead at her Bellevue Hill home. Picture: Christian Gilles

Edwina Horseman with her former partner Joe Dahdah. The couple have three children.

He is said to be “shattered” by the news. The couple, who never married but were described by friends as “childhood loves”, have three primary school aged children aged 10, eight and six who they had been co-parenting.

A spokeswoman at Horseman’s H Brand declined to comment on the young designer’s death when approached on Friday.

Attempts to reach her family also proved unsuccessful. Close sources said Horseman’s tight-knit family was devastated by the designer’s untimely death, the cause of which will now be determined by autopsy.

A police spokesman said: “Initial inquiries suggest the death is not suspicious and a report will be prepared for the Coroner.”

Horseman, a demanding perfectionist, had for more than a decade waged a private war against an eating disorder. At the time of her death, claimed sources close to the designer, she weighed just 38kg. Her body, this column understands, was discovered by a family member.

Dubbed Sydney’s “Cashmere Queen”, Horseman started H Brand in 2011 with her sister, Kate, before successfully launching two spin-off labels, Theron and H Brand Faux with her other partner, Tara Cunniffe.

Among her signature pieces were finely crafted and dyed rabbit and fox pelt jackets, chunky faux leather and fleece bomber jackets and fine cashmere knits – all sustainably sourced and luxurious.

Despite her early success in her final years Horseman, popular among Sydney’s well-heeled socialites thanks to her old school Ascham connections, had become increasingly reclusive say friends. Her last major public appearance was four years ago in May 2017 when she appeared at a glamorous fundraising event for the Sydney Children’s Hospital’s Gold Committee. There she was photographed alongside heiress Francesca Packer, Jacenko, real estate maverick Barbara Coombes and socialite Angelique Andrews, looking chic in a black and white gown.

Funeral plans are yet to be finalised.