Josie Borain, once a New York regular, now resides in the small town of Vermaaklikheid, making a difference in the local community
You are known as being South Africa’s first supermodel, where you modelled for Calvin Klein and other fashion designers. What are your fondest memories from that time?
Josie Borain When I first got my contract with Calvin Klein, he flew me and my boyfriend on his private Learjet to Key West to get a suntan – that was pretty cool! I loved living in New York and walking the streets with my camera and photographing everything I saw. I found it fascinating and inspiring. I also enjoyed downtown and the dodgy nightclubs that were full of weird and wonderful people.
It was a different time back in the 1990s when you were staying in NYC and Paris. Were there some eye-opening experiences?
The streets were much more grungy in NYC. At that time, 42nd Street was full of hookers and drug dealers – now it’s corporate and boring. Paris is the same, just cleaner and richer. Also, a little boring now… I like edgy places with edgy people – it’s more thrilling! I was privileged enough to travel to Japan last year. It was fun. I love a place that inspires me as soon as I get onto their soil and amazes me with every step I take.
Just growing older is wonderful! You become wiser, clearer in what you like and don’t like and you tolerate some things more and some things less. Life is life-changing.
Your face appeared on billboards all over the world. What would today’s Josie say to young Josie?
I would say, “Take a few selfies next to the billboards on Times Square – ha ha!” I literally took one photograph of myself there!
When and where did your love for photography originate?
My French boyfriend, who became my husband – I married him for his passport – gave me my first camera, a half-frame Bell and Howell. I loved it and loved taking pictures with it. I still have it, and a few other analogue cameras, which I prefer to use. I think I take better photographs with film than I do with digital. Unfortunately, film and processing are expensive now. It’s a luxury to be able to shoot film.
Your photographs culminated in a beautiful book entitled Josie You and Me, with behind-the-scenes snaps of your modelling days. What was the process that went into creating that?
I was pregnant with my last child, my third one. I did a photographic darkroom course and started developing my pictures. I realised I had some great photographs, so I decided to self-publish a book. It didn’t sell that well. I was told black and white photography isn’t what people want to buy, that they favour colour pics of flowers and wildlife in this country, but my book definitely struck a chord with people who recognise the people in the photos and knew the time when the pics were shot. It’s a bit like a photographic diary. I still have a few lying around and occasionally get to sell one, mostly to people overseas.
You are older and hopefully wiser. How long did it take you to embrace the ageing process?
The only negative thing about getting old is that all the boys or men I find attractive find women 20 years younger than me attractive. Basically, I missed the boat there!
How did you, of all places on the planet, end up in Vermaaklikheid?
My family and I used to come here for school holidays. We came for the first time in 1972, and we kept coming back. My dad finally bought a place in 1983, so that we had a piece of land here on the river. We used to have five houses on it, but they all burnt down in 2018. The land is gorgeous, and we now camp by the river, so it’s all good. I decided to move here to be closer to my dad. He has now passed away, but here, I am ensconced in ‘stuff’…
What is life like in a small town?
The local community that used to live on farms as labourers has moved to an area called The Kop, and things are tough there. It’s a small community of around 200 people. There are few landowners around, but a number of us have got together as a team to try and make a difference in and around Vermaaklikheid and improve things.
Unfortunately, small towns are forgotten by the government, and the only way to make a change is to do it yourself. The kids have to catch a bus at 6:30am to be dropped off at school 40km away and get brought back at 2:30pm. They have no access to the library, computers or sports fields, so a friend of mine and I have opened up a computer room that we have fundraised for and had many generous friends donate either computers or money to keep the room running. The kids love it and we feed them, so they love it even more.
Tell readers more about Josie’s General Store.
There used to be a bakery here that a friend of mine who lives here initiated. He sent this young gentleman to Cape Town to learn how to bake sourdough bread. Things went swimmingly until they didn’t. I bought a coffee machine from a mate of mine, thinking it would be fun to have a coffee while you wait for your bread, but unfortunately, the bakery closed down. I still had my machine, so I decided to put it in this room that I rent from someone and serve coffee. People love it. It’s a place for people to come together and chew the fat. If you like ‘off the beaten track’, Vermaaklikheid’s your place – come visit!
Text | Heléne Ramackers
Photography | Bronwen Trupp
For more information, go to josieborain.com.
