Ja’s Alicia Burke is Italian Vogue’s cover girl
Alicia Burke on the cover of Italian Vogue.
FROM A sneak preview released in Milan yesterday, the secret is now out that Pulse’s Alicia Burke has made the cover of November’s Italian Vogue.
She makes history as the first Jamaican or Caribbean model to appear on the cover of the Italian edition of the magazine. What’s more, she shot the editorial in September, a mere nine months after commencing her international career in January of this year.
Considered the final arbiter of style, Vogue is the top editorial opportunity available to models globally and Italian Vogue, along with the French and American editions, is the best option. The cover is an amazing feat. Two other Jamaicans have made the cover of Vogue: Lois Samuels (German edition), more than 20 years ago and Jeneil Williams (Turkish edition), three years ago. Williams and Sedene Blake have also made the cover of Vogue Beauty, a special magazine insert. All of these models are from Pulse.
Shot by Steven Meisel, the magazine cover features the stunning Burke as one half of a couple, the other half being male model Hussein Abdulrahman, the perfect foil for the radiant Alicia, whose dazzling smile comes shining through. The assignment, booked and shot in New York, was one of a slew of secret deals with major brands entered into by the new star’s managers, as she carefully treads the realm of exclusivity for the kind of projects that will propel her to the very top of the global industry.
Ultimately managed by her mother agent Pulse, which discovered her two years ago, her quick-fire success was crafted by a network of agencies, consisting of Pulse, Models in the United Kingdom, Supreme in Paris, Milan and New York, Elite in Stockholm and Le Management in Copenhagen. Burke won Pulse’s Caribbean Model Search Reality TV show in 2015 and quickly rose from there.
NEW CAMPAIGN
Last month, her new campaign for Ralph Lauren, ‘Iconic’, was released worldwide and a string of others, including Coach and Bobbi Brown, are due out ahead of the holidays. She is in the enviable position of having to refuse major assignments due to conflicts, exclusivity agreements and general unavailability, something that is almost unheard of this early in any model’s career.
A few of her top clients include: Harper’s Bazaar, French Vogue, Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Coach, Dolce & Gabanna, Stella McCartney, Armani, Salvatore Ferragamo, Tommy Hilfiger, Style.com, Prada, Bobbi Brown, Versace, iD, Benetton, Marc Jacobs, Vivienne Westwood, Top Shop, Harvey Nichols and Schiaparelli.