Elyse Taylor on motherhood, modelling lingerie and her Zac Posen wedding dress

More than five years since her first campaign for the brand and less than 12 months since the birth of her first child, Australian model and former Vogue cover girl Elyse Taylor is back in front of the camera for Bonds. New York-based Taylor is helping the underwear brand celebrate its centenary this year, starting with a new campaign alongside home-grown actor Jai Courtney, launching this month. On the day of the shoot in Sydney,Vogue dialled up Taylor to chat about her wedding dress and how it feels to be working again post-pregnancy. How was the shoot?
“It was an early call time but it was perfect. We shot at a beautiful apartment in Bondi so it was really great.”How does it feel to be back as a Bonds girl?
“It is such an honour. I worked with Bonds in 2009 for the 10th anniversary of their Hipsters range so it’s really nice to be back for their 100th anniversary.” Congratulations on your wedding in August. The photos were beautiful. Tell us about the process behind your Zac Posen dress.

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“It was so amazing of Zac to design my dress. He’s a personal friend of my husband Seth [Campbell]. We had three or four lunches and talked about the dress and what I wanted. He knows women’s bodies. He fitted it on a mannequin, it was three months in the making. Then he shipped it out to the Hamptons [where the couple were married] for me to try on and it was all happening.”How has your career changed since becoming a mother to your daughter Lila Louise early last year?
“I’m just trying to keep everything balanced with mum time, down time and shoots. I spend as much time as I can with her but I am also continuing with my career. We have already done two trips to Australia with her and she flies better than I do actually!”How did you get back into shape after giving birth?
“I found it really difficult. I put a lot of weight on when I was pregnant so honestly, I tried a few different diets but your body changes. The blood type diet worked for me and working out with my trainer four or five times a week. Basically, there’s no secret.”Are you still training as hard?
“Yes, definitely. I enjoy working out. It gives me peace of mind and it’s part of my job to stay active and healthy.”How do you exercise when you can’t see your trainer?
“I swim or I’ll do low-impact leg weights because I have a back injury and a bad knee so I don’t want to aggravate it.”Was there pressure to start working again after the birth?
“Not from the industry but from myself. As a model, you understand that there are so many young girls coming up behind you, it’s easy to be replaced. It was nice – they didn’t forget about me! A lot of my worries were for no reason.”If your daughter showed an interest in modelling, would you encourage it?
“Not until she’s finished her education. I didn’t start modelling until I was 17 as I finished high school. I would want my daughter to enjoy being a kid – there are so many negative aspects to the industry and you are thrown in the deep end so it’s not necessary to start too young.”
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