If you want to break into modelling, you may want to learn about the people who came before you, giving you a blueprint for success. When looking for modelling success stories, make sure you check out the tale of Karlie Kloss, who is quite simply one of the hottest models in the world right now.

Star discovery

Karlie Kloss was born in Chicago in 1992 to a modest middle class family, who moved to St Louis, Missouri, when she was just four. As a child, Karlie trained in ballet and this served her well in later life. Karlie has called her ballet training “a wonderful thing,” which taught her how to move as a model.

When she was 13, Karlie walked the runway at a local charity show, to support a friend with cancer. This changed Karlie’s life, as she was scouted by Jeff and Mary Clarke, which lead to her first modelling work, as the cover star of Chicago’s Scene Magazine, one year later. The next year, Karlie was signed to Elite Model Management, who have represented the likes of Adriana Lima and Cindy Crawford.

Breaking out

From there, Karlie quickly made a name for herself. She made her catwalk debut for Calvin Klein’s New York show and in her first season, also strutted down the runway for the likes of Gucci and Valentino. Karlie landed her first Vogue cover in 2008 and has since fronted magazines like Elle, Allure, i-D, Vanity Fair and various international editions of Vogue, showing just how popular she has become.

It’s hard to think of a fashion house that Karlie Kloss, who is now signed to IMG Models, hasn’t worked with. Over the years, she has been the face of fragrances produced by the likes of Marc Jacobs and Dior. By 2012, Karlie became a true superstar, when she was chosen to front campaigns from brands such as Oscar de la Renta and Donna Karan and she has kept on working with major names ever since.

Modern model

It’s also pretty clear that Karlie Kloss knows how to keep herself relevant in a fast-changing industry, as she is increasingly embracing the social media modelling movement. According to The Business of Fashion, when she was signed by IMG Models, the agency’s Managing Director, Ivan Bart said that “Karlie has an immense and loyal following” and today, she has 6m followers on Instagram.

Karlie’s so good at giving fans a glimpse of the modelling industry on social media that she’s even been awarded for it. Karlie won the ‘Best Model Social Media Award’ at the 2013 Fashion Media Awards and this is far from the only industry recognition she has received in her career. Karlie, for example, was named one of the top ten models in the world on Tumblr’s 2016 Year In Review Top Models List.

Perfect example

So it’s pretty clear why Karlie Kloss is the perfect example of a true modelling success story. LUXE Models finds it interesting that Karlie’s ballet training has served her well as a model. This shows that if you put the work in early and ensure you stay relevant as the industry changes, you can potentially rise to join the ranks of the supermodels… just like Karlie Kloss did.