A meet-cute, as Eli Wallach in The Holiday tells us, is ‘how two characters meet in a movie’. It’s that pivotal moment that shapes the rest of their lives – and maybe their children’s lives too. It’s picking up the wrong luggage at the airport. It’s both wanting the last record in the record shop. Or it’s meeting on the ski slopes of Whistler, Canada. A pivotal, perfect moment. That’s how it was for Kate Bock’s parents. Whistler was their ‘meet-cute’. Love was in the air, which means for Perfect Moment model Kate Bock, skiing is in the blood.

Kate Bock is a Canadian-born model, brand ambassador and influencer. She signed on with Sports Illustrated magazine in 2012 and made their cover in 2020. So, it seems only natural that she’s fast becoming one of the most sought-after names in the sporting modelling industry. In this exclusive interview with Ski Luxe Magazine, Kate lets us in on what to wear skiing, where to go skiing and why skiing will always be so close to her heart.

Growing up in Vancouver meant the mountains were only ever a hop and a skip away for Kate. A 15-minute drive to the local ones or just an hour and a half for the larger landscapes. So, forget driving to Gatwick, flying to Geneva and then taking a transfer to one of the Alps’ ski resorts. Undoubtedly, the mountain climber trains to Zermatt and St. Anton help build that excitable pre-ski anticipation. But wouldn’t it be nice to have the slopes just on your doorstep? Even those who drop down into Chamonix’s heliport would admit that skiing is a faff. And even with all the money in the world, a Brit can’t just pop over to the slopes for a few hours after work or after school on, say, a Monday night.

Monday night in Kate’s home though was family ski night. From aged three she was speeding down the floodlit mountains with her brother and sister. And from age five, she was doing the same with her school friends. Because in Canada, the children don’t stay behind the school playground’s yellow line. They explore the snowy playground’s green, blue, red, and black lines. Forget gym class. Skiing and snowboarding are their sports of choice.

Leaving home and entering the modelling world meant the fashion capitals of Paris, Milan and New York became Kate’s home. So, catching snowflakes on the slopes was like grabbing onto gold dust. But with the mountains being so ever-present in her life since birth, and even before, they’re always Kate’s go-to holiday destination. She’s even thinking of having a ski trip bachelorette party, before marrying her fiancé – the basketball player Kevin Love.

For Kate, outside of Whistler and the Blackcomb mountains, it’s all about Aspen. When speaking to Ski Luxe, Kate’s eyes immediately lit up just at the name. Aspen is like a haven for Kate – a sanctuary almost. Away from the busy streets of New York, Aspen is ‘a breath of fresh air’.

But Aspen’s appeal doesn’t just lie in that feeling of mustering up the mountains. The beauty is in the Aspen lifestyle. A lifestyle where you can awake at first light and sip on a morning coffee at Gorsuch Ski Café or the Local Coffee House. Or meet friends a little later for brunch in the village or a glass of wine at the top of the slopes.

Aspen is for those looking for more than just luxury skiing, it’s luxury living as well. Kate sees-saws between the sporty and the cultural. After a few long hikes and snow days, she enjoys wandering around the art galleries of the town. From Baldwin Gallery to Cha Cha Gallery and from Eden Fine Arts Aspen to Forre Fine Art Contemporary Gallery. In Aspen, you’ll be truly spoilt for choice. And the best thing about it, Kate says, is that everywhere is easy to walk to. So, for those partial to Zermatt’s car-free village or Avoriaz’s horse-drawn carriages, then Aspen should certainly be next on the list.

After a day on the slopes or revelling in all that the resort has to offer, it’s not hard to find a five-star hotel or restaurant to take your fancy. Enjoy lunch at the Aspen Mountain Club and then move onto Dante Aspen at Chef’s Club for dinner. After being awarded World’s Best Bar in 2019, it would be rude not to try a few drinks off the cocktail menu at Dante. When it comes to hotels, The Little Nell and Hotel Jerome won’t disappoint the highest of standards. But for Kate, in particular, it’s the St. Regis that she feels an undeniable attachment to. With exquisite rooms, superb service and panoramic views across the snowy mountains, she thinks of this place as a ‘Christmas Wonderland’.

It was here, at St. Regis, that she stayed whilst modelling for the luxury ski clothing brand Perfect Moment. On a ‘friends of the brand’ ski trip, she gallivanted around the slopes with her friend and photographer Ally B Martin. After mixing and matching different pieces, she found beautiful combinations from turtlenecks and jackets, right down to the all-important accessories of braces and bum bags. Perfect Moment balances fashion, form, and function to produce retro-inspired technical clothing products.

The specific collection that Kate modelled for was inspired by the 1960s. ‘It’s a sort of Bardot on the ski hill vibe’, she says whilst smiling, and then adds, ‘it’s style on the mountain’. And she’s right. Because Kate Bock wearing Brigitte Bardot-inspired Perfect Moment ski clothing is certainly nothing less than the epitome of style on the mountain. The vivid and bold colour palettes of the brand make great throwback pieces and elevate the aesthetic.

Perfect Moment is being seen more and more on the slopes. It’s young and current and fast taking its place next to luxury ski clothing brands like Moncler, Bogner and Toni Sailer. For Kate, this isn’t a one-hit-wonder worn on the hill for one winter. She tells Ski Luxe in this exclusive interview, ‘I’m a really big fan of the brand, and now will be wearing it forever more’.

Aligning with a brand is hugely important in Kate’s eyes. It’s not enough just to love its product. She has to love its values too. This is exactly why she is the Chief Brand Officer of Pompette. Pompette is a healthy sparkling water drink with a little bit of flavour and a little bit of alcohol. A perfect drink for the ski slopes.

Kate also lets us in on another trick to juggle a love for skiing with a healthy lifestyle. She, along with her fiancé, support Abby’s Better Nut Butter. The squeeze packs are suitable to pop in a pocket and whack out on the chair lift or at the top of the mountain. And not having to spend precious ski time in a café or a queue is something we all deserve this winter.

This winter, more than ever, Kate is yearning to get back on the slopes. She’s yearning to give her Perfect Moment clothes another spin. She’s yearning to try new ski resorts, be it in Wyoming or in Switzerland. And most of all, she’s yearning to get back to Aspen and to her home – the home of her parent’s ‘meet-cute’ – Whistler. Because skiing for Kate is about style and about slicing through the snow whilst smiling and even sometimes singing because, she says, ‘when I’m skiing, I’m in such a blissful state’.