Behati Prinsloo

She is the catwalk revelation of the season. She can be seen everywhere, from New York to Milan to London, at Marc Jacobs and Luella. Behati Prinsloo, a young South African newly arrived from Namibia, has quickly won over the world of fashion. She barely had time to find her footing (i.e. understand who is Kate Moss to whom she is often compared, flip through a Vogue, learn to walk down the catwalk) when she was already pushed up to the rank of an "it" girl.

Everything began on a beach in Cape Town. Prinsloo was 15 and was playing quietly with her friends when a woman, Sarah Doukas, handed her a telephone number scribbled on a piece of paper, telling her to contact the Storm Agency. Prinsloo had no idea what Storm was, and took the whole thing for a joke, given the way in which she received the number.

When she told her family, however, her uncle explained that Storm was a very well-known modeling agency and that she should definitely jump at the chance. She contacted the agency and was given an appointment. The verdict was quick: the Storm bookers saw in Prinsloo the next Kate Moss and decided to send her directly to London.

Storm may have been sure that Prinsloo was born to be a model, but she had never fantasized about modeling and was far from convinced. She was not familiar with Vogue nor the names of the top models or designers. She knew she was tall for her age, but her 1m78 (5'8") made her more uncomfortable than dreamy about a modeling career. Her time was spent on hockey, daydreaming and studying.

When she was suddenly offered a new future, she thought it over calmly with her parents. Her father is a pastor and recommended simply that she do nothing against her conscience. Her mother was enthusiastic and saw a chance for her daughter to see the world. Prinsloo accepted and found herself on a plane headed to London. Needless to say, for this young 16-year-old who came from a place where there was no cinema, nor clubs and only a few clothing boutiques, London was a bit disorienting.

The dense concentration of people, cars and businesses in one place overwhelmed her, but her agency organized a warm welcome and Prinsloo gradually became accustomed to the city to the point that she now considers it her second home. One of her bigger advantages when compared to other girls is that she already spoke English perfectly, facilitating her integration.

She quickly fell in love with everything around her and her new career. She often heard that she resembled Kate Moss, so she set out to learn who she was, admired her look and learned something about style. Then she began to work, her first job being a photo session for Vogue Italy, where only her feet were photographed.

Things started to pick up speed after she was photographed by Mario Testino. In 2005, she showed exclusively for Prada's spring/summer collection. In 2006, she appeared in the Marc Jacobs ad campaign and showed for Alexander McQueen, Chanel and Fendi. She participated in the Paris Haute Couture week in July 2006 for Anne-Valerie Hash, Chanel, Elie Saab, and Jean Paul Gaultier. She took advantage of the time to discover the French capital and thought she was dreaming when she saw the Eiffel Tower.

After this series of shows, WWD magazine classified her among the top 8 most promising models. The following year, she continued her ascension and appeared in numerous ad campaigns, e.g., Marc Jacobs, Hugo Boss and Tommy Hilfiger. The designer Henry Holland, Agyness Deyn's friend and fashion darling due to his psychedelic t-shirts, dedicated one to her with the following inscription: "Fancy a Screw, Behati Prinsloo?"

The fall/winter 2007/2008 shows and the last ones for summer 2008 saw her everywhere, and she had many prestigious projects, e.g., ad campaigns for Marc Jacobs and Aquascutum. She would love to pose for Dolce & Gabbana, Dior and Valentino, which should not take long to happen.

Prinsloo is very happy with the career that fell from the stars and savors her London life. She goes to the cinema, shops in the second hand stores, and goes out with friends. When asked what she would love to do, she answers with stars in her eyes, "Meet Kate Moss."