Up Close With Mackinley Hill

Emirates Woman takes to the open road with model Mackinley Hill to find out some of her best-kept secrets.

- Natalie Westernoff

Mackinley Hill, sister to Victoria's Secret model Taylor Hill, jetted into Dubai on the red-eye from New York city to shoot our September cover story with Hermès. But, her journey didn't stop there. As quickly as she had landed, we hit the open road with the model and headed to Oman’s stunning Zighy Bay. Here, we would spend the next few days soaking up the Omani culture and shooting this beautiful cover story under the rising sun and against a backdrop of captivating mountains. In fact, Mackinley told us over dinner on the last evening, that this trip was her favourite travel experience to date.

So, who is Mackinley Hill exactly? As we discovered over the next adventurous few days, she's a rock music star listening, super cool, down-to-earth girl who grew up in a “pretty normal” house in Arvada, Colorado, and, if we lived there, someone we would definitely love to hang out with. She admits, that it was in Colorado when she was growing up that it was her mum, who was a hairdresser, who encouraged her ambitions and creative freedom, and to "do whatever activity she thought looked cool". From horse riding to ballet, Mackinley was always exploring the arts.

It's no secret then, that the Hills are a creative bunch. Supermodel sister, Taylor, eldest sister Logan – a fashion photographer – and her brother Chase, also a former model. These siblings all have one thing in common: good looks and tenacious personalities. Mackinley tells us, “We all have really strong personalities, which means we clash sometimes but we are all really forthright in where we are going, and I think that has helped us find our passions.”