PARK Magazine

FASHION
Meet Kylie Vonnahme, the
24-year-old Texas model
who was scouted at a
Taylor Swift concert and
never looked back.
Kylie Vonnahme isn’t
your traditional runway
model. Behind the high fashion Patek-wearing
images of her seen on Vogue covers and Versace
runways, comes a John Deere-riding country
girl with a unique heritage. Hailing from a
small suburb of Dallas and raised as a “country
girl,” Kylie built her modeling career from
scratch after being scouted by a talent agent at
a Taylor Swift concert when she was just 16
years old. “Agents find unique and creative
ways to discover talent,” Kylie told PARK
magazine. “You hear everything from girls
being found at flea markets to music festivals
to just on the street.” The encounter with the
scouting agent was initially dubious, but Kylie
and her family let their guard down after the
agent flashed a business card from Ford, one of
modeling’s most reputable talent agencies. “It
was completely random, I was always short
growing up and I got a crazy growth spurt, and
all of a sudden I was this tall skinny girl which
was something that the scouts saw as
potential.” said Kylie, “I still had my braces on, I
definitely never got into it much. Scouts are
amazing in that they have an eye. I look back
and don’t see the model in that 16-year-old me
with braces, but it worked out.”
Alexander Wang, Versace & Chanel.
It wasn’t long after her first encounter with an
agent that Kylie was gracing magazine covers
and hitting the runways. Her first job was for a
JC Penny advertisement when she was 18 years
old. “It was a very foreign experience,” Kylie told
PARK, “There’s absolutely no training or
courses or anything so you’re kind of just
thrown into the mix and have to figure it out for
yourself. It was intimidating.” Shortly after her
JC Penny shoots, Kylie’s career turned to top
runways and high fashion like Alexander
Wang, Versace and Chanel. “The turning point
in my career was the first season on the runway
Kylie
Vonnahme
A Modern Supermodel
BY JAKE DRESSLER
I debuted with Alexander Wang in NY, Versace
in Milan, and Chanel in Paris.” Kylie said, “You
start to create a name for yourself in the
industry and you’re finally being put up for the
big jobs and the big campaigns.”
The quick rise from John Deere-riding Texan
to high fashion debutante had a profound
impact on Kylie. The fast-paced career path