Ever since she made her runway debut for Calvin Klein, the stunning Detroit native seemed destined for stardom.
The road to success is blocked by failure… for some. Others, like Brittany Burke, seem born to hit it big from the jump. The Detroit-born mother, whose own journey culminated in a spokesmodel job for Ford, saw something special in her daughter before she secretly submitted photos to a prestigious modeling agency in Chicago. The day Burke appeared in person was signed by the agency.
That early success was not a happy occasion, but an infamous one. Burke will soon find herself among the hopefuls for a New York Fashion Week booking with Calvin Klein. “I remember running from place to place and getting close to filming,” she recalls. “I was tired when I got home and passed out on the bed. But my mind is made up; All I wanted was to have Calvin Klein, even though I never thought it would happen.
On the day of the shoot, Burke looked forward to hearing from Calvin Klein’s directors. She was one of the class, then a handful, then a few. At the time, her “angel” agent approached with a sad look…only to pull a fast one and announce that she was walking for the famous fashion label at NYFW and closing the show. Not bad for Burke’s first runway experience.
“Then there was the fitting process, the clothes were tailored specifically to my body, which meant I was one of their special models. I worked one-on-one with the famous designer Francisco Costa and it was amazing.
As Burke was leaving Calvin Klein headquarters after a long workout, a scout presented her with the perfect opportunity: a meeting with none other than Ralph Lauren. “The scout took me to this model room; They all wore beautiful, beaded, burlesque gowns. Ralph came out, shook my hand and told me to try on a dress and heels. I went to his studio. I will never forget that day.”
Burke went on to model for Ralph Lauren online—Victoria’s Secret and Dior were other dream jobs. Her portfolio has spread to the likes of Vanity Fair and Marie Claire. More than 233,000 Instagram followers have been transfixed by Burke’s classic aesthetic, be it art, a magazine photo in her underwear or a silly behind-the-scenes clip. But not the brands she offered to Burke or the ones she collected.
“The highlights of my career are not the best jobs I’ve done, but the travel and the people I’ve met,” she says. “From Milan and Paris to Miami and Mexico. “If it wasn’t for modeling, I wouldn’t be in NYC, see the world or meet these amazing people.”
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