Photos: Neil Gussey
For many women, a milestone birthday is a chance to celebrate with family and friends, reflect on the highs and lows of the previous decade, and look ahead to the next. Yet for former supermodel Kylie Bax, her 50th birthday on January 5 passed much like any other day.
“Birthdays don’t mean anything to me,” she says, catching up with the Weekly over the phone from her home in Cambridge. “I might sound a bit boring, but since I was a young kid, everybody’s been on holiday during my birthday, so it just passed by and this one was no different.
“That doesn’t worry me because for me, age is just not a thing. As long as you wake up and you’re alive, I think you’re good to go!”
The stunning blonde – who gave up the catwalk to breed racehorses more than a decade ago – might be relaxed about letting her 50th pass without fanfare, but she’s happy to be back in the spotlight with a new documentary called Bax and Beyond.
Made by Kiwi fashion photographer Neil Gussey, the film examines Kylie’s meteoric rise to fame as New Zealand’s first supermodel and the extraordinary years she spent overseas immersed in the fashion world.
That life might seem far from where she is now, raising her daughters on a Waikato bloodstock farm, but Kylie says she’ll always be grateful for the experiences. Working alongside some of the world’s most famous fashion icons, including Tom Ford, John Galliano and Christian Dior, she also graced the covers of illustrious magazines such as Vogue, Elle and Harper’s Bizarre. Taking part in the doco was a walk down memory lane, allowing her to reflect and remember those successes.
“The ’90s and early 2000s were the great years for modelling, and I do feel lucky that I was part of that era,” she enthuses. “I worked with incredibly talented people, and I was lucky enough to wear some of the most amazing dresses, gowns and clothes.
“And, yes, I definitely miss those years. I’d certainly do it again if I could go back to the ’90s and work with the same people. But the industry has changed a lot now. Social media and digital photography have changed things. And a lot of the people I’ve worked with are no longer with us.”
Kylie, now a successful horse breeder, tells us the film not only gave her a chance to look back, but gave her daughters, Lito, 20, Dione, 17, and Danae, 13, a peek into the career she had before they were born. She hadn’t talked to them much about her life as a top model and they were delighted to see their mum in another light.
Admits Kylie, “I’m not much of an open book when it comes to what I’ve done in the past. And I’m not really one for looking over my shoulder, so taking them to the film was easier for me than trying to sit them down and explain to them what I’ve done. The documentary showed them what that old life was like and they really enjoyed it.”
While Kylie is modest about her achievements, filmmaker Neil, who divides his time between Sweden and New Zealand, believes the Kiwi public never fully appreciated just how huge she was in the fashion world. While Kiwi model Rachel Hunter often dominated the headlines here, he believes Kylie deserved greater recognition.
Says Neil, “Kylie was number one. She had 13 Vogue covers and worked for pretty much every top brand and designer. That’s why I wanted to concentrate on a documentary that showcased her career rather than her fame.
She was incredibly successful. She’s the one that every top designer wanted on their campaign. She was extremely good at what she did and she’s the hardest worker I’ve seen. She never stopped.”
Neil – who is also debuting a documentary about the Auckland fashion scene in the ’90s – has worked with Kylie for more than 30 years. However, he still remembers meeting her for the first time as a 16-year-old aspiring model.
“She was very sweet, very quiet and very shy,” he recalls. “But she felt determined – you could tell. And she’s still the same really, she’s very humble but still driven.”
Kylie says it’s hard to believe she had the courage to move to New York at just 20 to pursue her dream. Meanwhile, she reveals she had a steely determination to succeed from the beginning.
“I think I was born with that,” she muses. “From very early on, I knew where I wanted to be and I knew what I wanted to do. I don’t really go into things thinking I’m going to fail. It’s just not an option.”
And Kylie is quick to point out that if people think being a supermodel was a life of glamour, cocktail parties and rubbing shoulders with celebrities, they’re sadly mistaken. The model life was as exhausting as it was exhilarating. It meant long days, endless travel, and a competitive and cut-throat environment.
Her advice to anyone wanting to crack the modelling world is to be prepared to work hard.
“The first thing I say if someone wants to make it overseas as a model is, ‘How tall are you?’ Because if you’re not tall enough, there’s no point in trying.
“And you’ve got to have a personality, to be driven, and to have a tough skin. People are really picky and can be really nasty at times.
“So as long as you’re thick-skinned and ready to put 110 percent effort into it, then go for it, definitely. But if you really want to bite the bullet, you do have to go overseas and prove your worth there.”
And prove her worth she did, cementing her place as this country’s most successful-ever fashion model. But after over a decade at the top, it was motherhood that saw her return to rural New Zealand to raise her kids on the land.
Life in rural Cambridge was a huge contrast from where she’d been. She felt used to working with top designers and alongside other supermodels like Naomi Campbell. But now, at home on the farm, it’s clear she’s happy, surrounded by her girls and her horses.
Kylie’s daughters might be older now, but they still keep her busy. Her firstborn Lito now lives and works in Auckland as a hairdresser.
Kylie admits she’s always been competitive. That’s why swapping modelling for the horse world has been such a smooth transition. She loves nothing more than seeing her racehorses do well.
“I love my horses,” she tells. “Anybody who has horses or worked with them understands they’re amazing animals.”
While she’s often approached about modelling work, it’s her family and her horses that come first.
“I still keep up with my fashion and agents, but I’m also realistic about how I can’t go anywhere. I still have young children that need me to look after them and take them places,” she says.
“I’m happy where I’m at right now. I’m very happy with the challenges my horses give me and I’m doing very well with them. It’s an exciting industry because I get to travel and do things through the horses. I’m constantly meeting new people, which I really like.”
And when asked what she does to relax, Kylie laughs, “Relax? What’s that? I’d be as bored as heck if I wasn’t doing something!”
Bax and Beyond will screen on Sky TV throughout August.
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