TAYLORHILLHASFOUNDNEWWINGS

The ultimate girl-next-door lets us in on life outside the runway. 

 

WORDS Madeleine Ringer

 

Interview taken from IMAGINE Magazine Issue Three Pre Order here

 

How do I make an impact? is the question on Taylor Hill’s lips, while the world hushes to hear her speak. Model, Stone Fruit co-founder and philanthropist, I would argue Hill’s footsteps already carry a cementing legacy of curiosity, compassion and commitment. And there’s so much more to come.

 

I meet the Victoria’s Secret Angel via Zoom, her in Nashville, myself in London, both of us boiling away in soaring summer temperatures. Not that she shows any sign of discomfort, as she lights up my screen in a picture of ease, confidence and good old American charm. Together, we discuss the concept of imperfection, how trusting people to take control can lead to amazing things, and reflect on the importance of passing on good fortune to others.

 

Madeleine Ringer: You founded jewellery brand Stone Fruit last year with your sister, Mackinley Hill. How does your taste differ and how do you use that as strength?

 

Taylor Hill: We come from the same parents, and we share DNA, but we couldn’t be more different. People think we’re twins all the time, but we’re on opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of personalities — and that’s so fun. Being able to create with [Mackinley] is such a joy, because she thinks differently than me. I’m a bit more into the bigger picture and the operation of it all, whereas she gets to be creative and design everything. Then when I want to be creative, she’s like come on in.

 

MR: Stone Fruit is rooted in the idea of finding joy in imperfection. As a model and public figure, perfection, many people would think, comes with those two titles — how do you hold this and what does imperfection mean to you?

 

TH: I think there’s a sense of humanity in being imperfect. No one is perfect and that’s an amazing thing, because it makes us all unique. When you’re able to collaborate with somebody who has a different mindset or who’s had a different walk of life, they can open your eyes to things you’ve never thought about before had you not met that person.

 

With Stone Fruit, we love the idea that a lot of our pieces have natural gemstones, things that come from the Earth, just like as people, we are of the Earth. Seeing the stones come in and every single one having a different colour, shape or size, you realise no piece can possibly be the exact same.

 

We also use a lot of 925 silver, which is quite soft. We were really inspired by our mum, because she only wears silver jewellery — I’m talking multiple rings on every finger and bracelets up to her elbows. She’s cooking in it. She’s lifting things in it. [My parents] live on acres and acres in Colorado and they’re out there cutting down trees every day, and she doesn’t take them off. There’s something so cool about that, how her pieces are moulded to her body. Her silver is flatter and it’s got that wear to it that happens when you wear softer silver, it’s malleable and it forms to you. We love this idea and that’s why we use so much of it, and it’s where the inspiration of finding joy in imperfection was found — you don’t have to be so delicate with it. If you want to polish it and make it nice again, by all means, we’re not saying you don’t have to. [But] we do design with the intent for these pieces to age and become imperfect.

 

 

MR: That’s such a special and refreshing concept in a world obsessed with always having the next best thing. You’ve officially launched your summer campaign, shot in Mexico. How was that experience?

 

TH: It was so fun and unlike any photoshoot I’ve ever done. We’re not a big brand — it’s just us. With the few women we have on our team, we rented a house, and we all stayed in it together, it was like summer camp. One of our friends was the photographer and another was one of the models. I was like, do you want to come to Mexico and help me? We got all the pieces there and then we realised there was no plan; we knew we wanted underwater imagery and that we wanted it to feel like a fun vacation with your friends. We weren’t so concerned about having to get specific shots and angles. We had a lot of trust in our photographer, so we just told her figure it out, we’ll just go with it.

MR: Do you have a favourite piece from the collection?

 

TH: I’m obsessed with the fishbone earrings and the fishbone pendant. I’m a Pisces, so for me, I’m like, this is mine. I designed this for the Pisces girls out there and the fishes swimming in the sea.

 

We’re also using a stone called Labradorite, which I love. It’s so unique and beautiful. It looks like the ocean with its different hues of blue, which changes depending on the lighting. In darker settings, it looks almost black and opaque, and then in the sun, it lights up and it’s a much brighter blue. I’ve been thinking, do we keep it and carry it into some other collections?

 

MR: Definitely, it looks amazing. What’s your creative process behind conceptualising and executing a campaign?

 

TH: It’s quite a long process for us. We started working on this campaign two years ago, so we’re already designing for Summer 2028, because of the way we make everything, it takes quite a long time.

 

We usually start with questioning what we want the collection to embody. What are we inspired by? Do we need to search for certain stones because of their colours or are we designing the shape first and then deciding on the stone that fits best? It starts quite broad and big picture and then we’ll pick something we both really love and feel connected to. With this campaign, we were really inspired by a trip Mackinley and I took to the Amalfi Coast; we loved the rich, dark colour of the sea over there. There’s so much seafood there too, which we loved.

 

We thought, if we wanted to do a fishbone, how can we make it modern or do it in a way that hasn’t necessarily been done before? It all started from there. The process can be different every time, but it does take us quite a while. Then, when we get the jewellery, we’re like, OK next, because we’ve been working on it for those past two years, so for us it doesn’t feel new anymore. We’re always so excited and saying can’t this go faster?

 

 

MR: It’s clear how much care and thought there is behind each collection. Jewellery can often hold memories and meaning to us depending on when or where we received the piece, or who from, which I know is an idea you feed into Stone Fruit. Do you think clothing can do this too? For your Imagine cover, you’re dressed exclusively by Karl Lagerfeld whom you have a long history with — did the shoot bring back memories?

 

TH: I think so. I walked for Chanel for the first time when I was seventeen and that’s when I met Karl. I’ve always loved him and admired his work. He was so incredible, and his legacy will live on. So yeah, it was cool to reflect on that all.

 

MR: Your first shoot ever was when you were just fourteen. What do you think your fourteen-year-old self would think about you, your life and accomplishments now?

 

TH: I think she would be so proud of me. All that work paid off. Fourteen-year-old me was so dedicated. I look back on that girl and I’m in awe of how, at just fourteen, I understood something so complex and so much more adult than I was. I just had blind faith and thought, I’m going to do this.

 

I cried a lot. I was very homesick. I was a teenager missing friends, birthdays, high school dances and all those things that feel like a really big deal when you’re young. There were so many times when I thought, why am I doing this? I don’t want to do this anymore. I would cry to my mum, and she’d say, you don’t have to do this. I was like, you’re right, I don’t have to. But I would just keep going. I’m proud of her for pushing through at a young age.

 

MR: The dedication you’ve had is incredibly impressive. You walked your first Victoria’s Secret show at just eighteen, earning your wings a year later. Do you still feel like an Angel at heart or has your life moved on a little?

 

TH: I love Victoria’s Secret — I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for that incredible brand. I worked with them for twelve years consistently without a break and it was amazing. They’re so loyal, just look at Adriana Lima. She’s been doing it for how many years? I’m a baby compared. I’ll always be so grateful I got to be a part of it, during the golden years. I look back on that time very fondly and I’ve made such amazing memories and incredible friends because of it.

 

I think once you’re an Angel, you’ll always be one, especially for the fans. That’s what they know me from, how many discovered who I was or when they first felt a connection to me. So, it will always be a part of who I am. I would never want to deny it, shed it or run away from it. You should embrace the things that made you who you are, and hopefully it’ll always be a part of my life and something that I get to do.

MR: Rather than a karaoke song, what’s your runway song?

 

TH: Any song by Rihanna. When you’re walking, a beat is really important, something that’s steady, that has a good pace, that you can match each step to. If the designer wants you to have a fast-paced walk during the show, they’d better be playing something with a good beat, you know? If we got to book it down this runway, supply.

 

I didn’t walk the Victoria’s Secret show when Rihanna performed, which was so devastating. That show was iconic. She’s my favourite musician that ever did Victoria’s Secret. I wish I could have been there for that. I don’t have, in my opinion, the best runway walk, but when I saw her, I was like, I could never do that. She ate it up. It was her show.

 

MR: You work with FERAL, a non-profit organisation that uses the fashion industry to support women getting out of dangerous situations and put back on their feet. What does that involve for you and how can the Arts help empower vulnerable people?

 

 

TH: FERAL is an incredible organisation to worth with, they support women who’ve come from difficult backgrounds and hard walks of life. I’m so inspired by Laverne Delgado, their founder, and so proud of her as an individual. What she does for these women is crazy. She first started it by just going into these communities and physically taking these women out and helping them get back on their feet, teaching them trade and industry skills. The fashion industry is a great place for women to be able to thrive and have incredible careers without needing so much education and access to funds. You can learn by doing — by being an intern or an assistant and then going off and creating your own career and not needing to put all this money into it.

 

I donate a lot of my clothes and if I get gifted with beauty products I’m not going to use, I’ll send it to Laverne to make sure it’s going to an individual that genuinely needs it. The most incredible feeling for them is to receive a package that’s still in the box, something brand new. It can be such an amazing feeling of this is mine, it’s brand new and it’s for me. It’s so important to me to make sure they feel supported with items that are truly theirs, because they deserve it. Everybody does access to the things that we need, it’s just basic humanity.

 

When they start moving into apartments and are beginning to be able to sustain themselves, I buy things off their Amazon wish lists to help out. Being able to help buy things for their home is so nice, because all these things do add up. It’s one of my favourite things to do, especially during the holidays. I’m always like how can I help? Who needs stuff? Can I give them everything? They obviously need monetary donations as well, so being able to help financially and push their efforts forward is also really important to me. Just being able to make an impact with women when I’ve been so fortunate in my life; I’m always thinking how do I pass that on? How do I make an impact? It’s super important for women to support other women, regardless of who we are and where we come from.