Since making 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 own journey culminated in spokesmodel work for Ford, had clearly seen something special in her daughter before she secretly submitted photos to Chicago’s venerated Select Model Management. Burke was signed by the agency the day she made an in-person appearance.

That early success was not a happy chance, but a harbinger. Burke would soon find herself among a crowd of hopefuls all arduously vying to land a New York Fashion Week booking with Calvin Klein. “I remember running around from place to place, casting to casting,” she recalls. “I was exhausted and passed out on the bed when I arrived home. But my mind was set; all I wanted was to book Calvin Klein, though I never dreamed it would happen.”

On the day of the casting, Burke waited eagerly to audition for Calvin Klein’s directors. She was one of a roomful, then a handful, then a few. Her “angelic” agent at the time approached with a somber look…only to pull a fast one and report she’d be walking for the preeminent fashion label at NYFW and close the show. Not bad for…