BIRGIT KOS

Channeling the great Brigitte Bardot and her modeling idol Linda Evangelista, the Dutch  powerhouse Birgit Kos has already ascended to the heights of the modeling world since getting her start in 2014. Before being discovered at the age of 15 at a shopping mall in Amsterdam with her parents, the tomboy and outdoorsman had no lofty aspirations of modeling at the onset:

“When I was young, I had these really round glasses and really weird short hair. I looked like a boy, actually. Then my hairdresser started to tell me that I should be a model and that I had a pretty face, around 13 or 14. I guess then you start to see it.”

I don’t have to sell my soul
He’s already in me
I don’t need to sell my soul
He’s already in me

Birgit began shooting with a local agency, but was told she had “too much hips.” “They said I could come back when my hips were smaller, says Kos, I was done with it after that.” Birgit’s father saw an advert for the Elite Model Look competition and urged her to give modeling another shot.

I wanna be adored
I wanna be adored

Birgit didn’t win but she landed a contract. Her first two years were slow, doing only commercial work, but Birgit was still grateful for her slow start. “I didn’t do much editorial or walk in any shows, but I am really thankful for that slow start, as it gave me time to really hone my craft.”

I don’t have to sell my soul
He’s already in me
I don’t need to sell my soul
He’s already in me

I wanna be adored
I wanna be adored

Birgit’s career really started to get its legs in 2016 when she landed her first magazine cover for Glamour France January 2016 and scored her first big fashion campaign for Giorgio Armani: “When I started modeling, [Armani] was really the king of fashion for me,” she said. “It was nice to get that [campaign] because after three years of working, you see that you’re going somewhere.”

Birgit walked her first and only show in 2016 for Miu Miu S/S 17. But for 2017, Birgit would go on an Attila the Hun-esque fashion siege, walking upward to 60 SHOWS for everyone from Alberta Ferretti, Fendi, Moschino, Versace, Etro, Saint Laurent, Chloe, Isabel Marant, Tom Ford, Michael Kors, Ralp Lauren, as well as gracing some of her first covers for Vogue Japan, Germany and Russia.

Adored
I wanna be adored

“At first I was really relaxed about it and thought, ‘OK, I’ll try the modeling thing for a bit.’ Then when I started getting contracts, I was like, ‘Holy shit! I can actually do this.”

Birgit would be bestowed with another modeling milestone for her already stellar fashion career when in 2018 she landed her first fragrance campaign for none other than Hugo Boss, a moment in her life where she was ecstatic with glee and disbelief:

“I called my mom and said, ‘Do you know who I’m doing a commercial with? What if it’s like Fifty Shades of Grey?’ ” She laughs. “But Jamie is so cool, it wasn’t that way at all.”

Today, Birgit has 24 fashion magazine covers, 16 of which are for Vogue, 55 editorials, has walked in at 156 shows, is a Top 50 Model according to Models.com and in 2017 was nominated for Models.com Industry Award for their Women’s Breakout Star.

You adore me
You adore me
You adore me, I wanna, I wanna
I wanna be adored

“It’s impossible to pick a single career highlight. Honestly, I am just really grateful for every job I get.”

Birgit draws most of her inspiration from her modeling icon Linda Evangelista as well as her favorite photographer, the legendary Peter Lindburgh:

“She [Linda Evangelista] embodies what a model should be. She is a chameleon and can step into any character. I always hear from all the great photographers that she inspired them enormously. That’s what a model should be, a muse.”

When Birgit isn’t being a stellar top fashion model, she enjoys the quiet and slow pace life of countryside living in Zurich, Switzerland with her longtime boyfriend Sven. “Zurich is a really vibrant, beautiful old city with a nice relaxed pace of life. When I’m not away for work, I love taking our dog for walks in the open fields and forest.”

Birgit is also quite the outdoorswoman. She thrives the most in the wild, doing outdoor activities: “I really like nature. I like to do sporty stuff outdoors…hiking, walking, snowboarding.” Birgit loves the outdoors so much that she could envision herself as a travel agent, exploring parts of Africa like Namibia and helping with wildlife conservation.

Wanna
I wanna, I wanna be adored
I wanna, I wanna, I wanna be adored
I wanna, I wanna, I gotta be adored

But one of the things Birgit adores and cherishes the most, is fellow model and best friend, the one and only Luna Bijl! The two have been friends for years and they first met during a shoot for H&M in Mexico. Luna: “It immediately clicked between Birgit and me.” Birgit: ‘Luna is super social. She talks easily, so it was fun from the first minute. ” Luna: We have the same standard when it comes to working.

Out of all of the dozens of new faces in the fashion industry today, Birgit Kos is easily one of the most distinguished. She has this classical Hollywood aura about herself like Brigitte Bardot and many of her modeling shots look like they’ve could have been photographed by Helmut Newton himself. She has such an look of sophistication and air of being totally nonchalant.

“If you want to be a model, I think one of the most important things is to stay yourself. People love to see your personality, they love to see you for who you are. They don’t want to see a facade of something that you feel like you have to be.”

It’s really remarkable what Birgit has done in her career, especially considering the slow start she had. But she’s been a hit ever since and as a modeling virtuosa, her artistry and versatility are almost second to none.

I wanna be adored

She rather be reading her favorite book in the confines of her Zurich wildlife abode than tend with the mortal coil of big city life. She’s as outdoorsy and easygoing as they come, she’s everything you could ask for in a top model with beauty and grace. A heart for wildlife and a Superlove to totally adore, Birgit Kos.