P.E.I. model reaches fashion heights on European runways

After completing her first fashion month in Europe walking for Victoria Beckham, Hugo Boss and Yves St. Laurent P.E.I. model Danielle Glover is ready for what's next.

It was a crazy, busy month for Glover, who works under the name Dee Glover.

"I started off with Victoria Beckham in London which was kind of my debut show because I haven't done a full season before," Glover told CBC's Island Morning.

"I did Hugo Boss in Milan and then I finished off with Yves St. Laurent in Paris."

The Beckham show was particularly special, because walking in one of Beckham's shows was a special dream of Glover's.

"I believe so strongly in saying something and then putting it out to the universe, and I think it'll eventually come to you if that's what you're working towards," she said.

"That was surreal. Really, really cool. She was really nice."

A family history

Glover grew up in New Annan, just outside Summerside. It's an unincorporated area, too small to even count its population separately.

But the move to modelling as a career was not completely out of the blue. Her mother had a brief career as a model, spending time living in New York, but she never reached the heights her daughter has. She did photo shoots, but never walked the top-end runways.

While Glover had some advice and guidance from her mother, moving from New Annan to a jet-setting lifestyle around Europe has been an enormous change.

"I've learned how to be alone, because a lot of traveling, and I've learned a lot about myself in general," she said.

"I've been really faced with myself."

Missing home

And she's been faced with other people: the crowded streets and airports of European capitals, as well as sharing rooms with other models.

"Growing up in Prince Edward Island, it's kind of easy to forget that you have to live with people," she said.

I've actually been drawn to homea little more. Danielle Glover

"I grew up in the middle of nowherein the country, so I had my fair share of open spaces and really spoiled in that way. And then now, living in a big city, it gets kind of hectic."

As much as she is enjoying the success of her career, Glover is finding she is increasingly missing P.E.I.

"The missing part, I thought that it would get easier but actually it's going in reverse," she said.

"I've actually been drawn to homea little more. I miss it so much. And it's really something that I've learned to appreciate."

Still moving forward

There are other challenges. She gets paid per show and covers her own travel expenses. The talent agencies she relies on to book her appearances scoop up 25 to 75 per cent of her fees.

But Glover is not looking back. She just signed with a new agency in New York, and is planning to move there. At 23, she is at the top of her profession, but in hindsight she said there are still some things she would have done differently.

First off, and unusually for just about any other career, getting her start at the age of 18 was a little late. Not that she would have left high school to get started, but waiting for her high school graduation before her first job wasn't ideal.

"When I was finishing school my mom was like, 'well you're 18 it's getting late now. You're getting a little too old,'" she said.

Apart from starting earlier, she also wishes she'd asked more questions about the industry from anyone she could possibly get in touch with who was connected to it.

"Do a lot of research before you jump into anything and definitely involve your parents," she said.

"I would have definitely involved my parents a bit more, even though they were there every step of the way and super supportive. But I definitely would have reached out also to different people in the industry like models photographers."

The key thing, however,that has made Glover successfulis just getting out there and doing it.

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