Kate Love Says Her Creativity Has Flourished With Each SI Swimsuit Feature

The model celebrated her 10-year anniversary with the brand in 2022.

Kate Love was photographed by Yu Tsai in Belize / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

In 2022, Canadian model Kate Love celebrated a decade with SI Swimsuit. It was a momentous occasion for the model (who joined a rather small group of women who have graced the pages of the magazine 10 times or more) and for the brand (which is always happy to welcome Love back to the fold).

Her decades-worth of features had taken her everywhere from Easter Island, Chile (a remote island in Polynesia) to Montreux, Switzerland (a town on the banks of Lake Geneva) and—ultimately—to Belize in 2022. In the verdant green jungles and lagoons of the tropical destination, Love celebrated her 10-year SI Swimsuit anniversary in style.

In addition to posing for another set of really glamorous photos, the 36-year-old took the opportunity to reflect on her fruitful partnership with the brand over the years. It is a relationship that has, of course, produced hundreds of really incredible photos. But, more than that, it has given Love the chance to flex her creativity—to embrace the very thing that inspired her to model in the first place.

“I’ve gotten all these opportunities to really learn and grow with Sports Illustrated [Swimsuit]. I started coming to shoots with mood boards,” she explained in 2022. “I think it helped me kind of hone in on my creativity because every year is a little bit different based on the location, the photographer or just the weather and the vibe that we have, the swimsuits. It allowed my creativity and understanding of this industry to really flourish.”

And her mood boards really paid off in the planning and execution of some memorable photo shoots, Belize included. During that feature, Love posed before for photographer Yu Tsai sporting swimwear that reflected the natural beauty of her surroundings. The photos were—as always—carefully composed and beautifully executed. The whole experience was a testament to the easy partnership between Love and the SI Swimsuit brand.

The extent of the relationship was something the model never could have imagined. “I think I knew that that was something I would have always wanted, but not necessarily something that I ever thought was a possible option,” she said of her 10-year anniversary. “Every year I get nervous or wonder what might happen. You never know for sure that you’re back. And it’s always such an honor to be asked.”

Much as she is happy to return each year, we’re happy to have her back—milestone photo shoot or not. But there was something special about that feature in Belize, after all. Here are a few photos from the trip to prove it.

Kate Love was photographed by Yu Tsai in Belize. Swimsuit by Vitamin A. / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

Kate Love was photographed by Yu Tsai in Belize. Swimsuit by Agua by Agua Bendita. Earrings and bracelet by Viktoria Hayman. / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

Kate Love was photographed by Yu Tsai in Belize. Swimsuit by Triangl. Necklace by Cleopatra’s Bling. / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrate