Ever since she made her runway debut for Calvin Klein, the stunning Detroit native seems destined for stardom.
The road to success is paved with failure… for some. Others, like Brittany Burke, seem born to hit it big from the jump. The Detroit native’s mother, whose journey culminated in a spokesmodel job for Ford, had clearly seen something special in her daughter before she secretly sent the photos to Chicago’s venerable Select Model Management. Burke was signed by the agency the day she appeared in person.
That early success was not a lucky chance, but a harbinger. Burke would soon find herself among a crowd of hopefuls all vying to book a New York Fashion Week spot with Calvin Klein. “I remember running from place to place, casting to place,” she recalls. “I was exhausted and passed out in bed when I got home. But my mind was made up; all I wanted was to book Calvin Klein, although I never dreamed it would happen.”
On casting day, Burke looked forward to auditioning for Calvin Klein’s directors. It was one of a room, then a handful, then a few. Her “angelic” agent at the time approached her with a dour look…only to pull a fast one and report that she would be walking for the iconic fashion label at NYFW and closing the show. Not bad for Burke’s first track experience.
“Next was the fitting process, where the garment was tailored specifically to my body, meaning I was one of their exclusive models. I worked one-on-one with the legendary designer Francisco Costa and it was incredible.”
As Burke was leaving the Calvin Klein Center after a long day of fitting, a scout hit him with a serendipitous opportunity: a date with none other than Ralph Lauren. “The scout took me to this room of models who were all in beautiful, beaded, burlesque dresses. Ralph came out, shook my hand and told me to try on a dress and heels. I walked to his studio. I will never forget that day.”
Burke went on to model for Ralph Lauren online—Victoria’s Secret and Dior are other dream jobs. Her portfolio has been bolstered with spreads for companies such as Vanity Fair and Marie Claire. Her 233,000+ Instagram followers are in awe of Burke’s classic beauty, whether she’s on display in an arty, lingerie-clad magazine shoot or a silly behind-the-scenes clip. But it’s not the brands she’s posed for or the following she’s earned that make Burke.
“The highlight of my career isn’t necessarily the great jobs I’ve done, but the travels and the people I’ve met,” she tells us. “From Milan and Paris to Miami and Mexico. If it wasn’t for modeling, I wouldn’t be in NYC, I wouldn’t have seen the world, I wouldn’t have met these incredible people.”
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