Supermodel strength: Cat McNeil makes a brave return to fashion
One of Australia’s most high-profile models returns to fashion transformed.
Cat McNeil has appeared on the cover of Vogue Australia seven times. But her latest outing for the fashion magazine represents a more personal triumph: it marks the homegrown supermodel’s first cover since regaining her sobriety.
“I feel like a completely different person to who I was three years ago,” McNeil, 33, tells Vogue. “I’ve grown up a lot and having my sobriety — that’s changed things in leaps and bounds.”
In 2019, McNeil disappeared from the runway and left her adopted city of New York to focus on her mental health. “The city had become quite toxic. So I was just like, ‘I’m out’,” she says.
Born in Logan, Brisbane, McNeil spent more than a decade at the top of the global fashion industry, gracing catwalks for Chanel, Hermès, Alexander McQueen and just about every other major luxury brand — including Jean Paul Gaultier, which she became the face of in 2008.
But the endless cycle of travel, work and partying was causing McNeil to lose control.
“I still look back today and there are photo shoots where I’m like, ‘I don’t even remember that …’ because I was just working so much. It felt like I couldn’t keep track of what was going on.”
At the beginning of 2020, McNeil flew back to Australia and sought professional help. “I got really depressed through the first part of Covid. And my mental health is really important to me, so I went to this place called the Health Retreat on the Sunshine Coast … I got my sobriety back. It wasn’t easy at all,” she acknowledges.
“But it needed to be done. And I wasn’t doing it because I was even planning on going back to work. I was just doing it for myself.”
Shortly before she left New York City, McNeil began dating Miles Plumlee, an ex-NBA player from Fort Wayne, Indiana. In June this year, they were engaged.
“He is just the most loving, gentle soul,” says the model of the 2.11m-tall Plumlee. “We’re getting married, I want to have a family, I want to make money for my future family.”
Grounded by her new-found perspective, McNeil staged a stellar return to fashion during the most recent spring/summer 2023 season, walking the runway for Versace, Burberry and cult Parisian brand Coperni.
“I do miss the industry,” she says. “I am excited to get back to New York and see everyone.”
Yet McNeil says she’s “not worried at all” about what a return to her old lifestyle might look like. “It’s about who you surround yourself with, and what you choose to immerse yourself in.
“It’s just amazing to actually find out the things I love, and who I am … and I think that’s great in my 30s.” Fashion isn’t my identity. It’s my job,” she resolves. “I love myself again. And that’s a big, important thing.”
Vogue Australia’s November issue is on sale October 24.