When model Cara Delevingne turned 21 on Aug. 22, she received an epic birthday present — a spot on the cover of W Magazine’s coveted September issue.
The venerable issue celebrated style rebels, calling the sultry-looking Delevingne the “Anti-Role Model.”
It’s a label that suits the Brit tomboy with prominent caterpillar eyebrows, killer street style, goofy playfulness and a pack of A-list pals.
Standing at the relatively elfin-for-the-fashion-world 5-foot-9, she hasn’t always been so sure of her superstar potential, telling W, “As a teenager, I kept thinking, ‘I’m so short, and I have no boobs — what do I do?’”
The answer?
Become the biggest thing the modeling world has seen since another skinny, unconventionally pretty British girl appeared topless in a Calvin Klein ad in 1992.
“She is this generation’s Kate Moss in an era where the supermodel is so few and far between,” says Elle magazine’s creative director, Joe Zee. “She is special. She’s beautiful, she has personality and wicked style to boot.”
By the time she reached legal US drinking age this summer, Delevingne was already the face of Burberry, DKNY, Fendi, Saint Laurent and Chanel, and had landed the covers of both British Vogue and W. In December, she strutted in candy stripes at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, and in February returned to New York Fashion Week, where she walked in a whopping 15 shows, including Jason Wu and Diane von Furstenberg.
“Every echelon of the fashion industry is obsessed with her. All of the insiders know who she is, but she is about to cross over into the mainstream audience for sure,” adds Zee.
W fashion and style director Edward Enninful says Delevingne was a natural choice for the “rebel” cover.
“Cara isn’t afraid to be herself. She is young and alive, but incredibly focused in front of the camera, which shows through the photograph,” Enninful tells The Post.
The model is equally prolific in her activities after dark. Nary a day passes when the British tabloids don’t spy Cara Delevingne out night-crawling.
Her late-night posse regularly includes singers Rita Ora and Rihanna, and model Georgia Jagger (daughter of Mick, natch). She’s also been linked romantically to One Direction’s Harry Styles.
But Delevingne has also seen the darker side of success. In May, she was photographed in front of her London apartment trying to pick up a bag of unidentified white powder that had spilled out of her bag. (She responded to the controversy by posting Instagram photos of herself kissing Sienna Miller.)
H&M, which had used the It girl in past campaigns, dropped her after the powder incident. A representative for the company — which similarly dropped Moss when she was photographed sniffing what appeared to be cocaine in 2005 — told The Sun newspaper there was “no particular reason” to use Delevingne in the future.
The model now seems to recognize that her life may be moving too quickly. Last month, she reportedly canceled a raucous birthday bash in Ibiza, after friends and family encouraged her to scale back her partying. And she told W she often solicits Moss’ counsel, remarking, “Kate gives really good advice.”
Still, fashion insiders predict Delevingne will be in high demand this Fashion Week.
“Cara is a very talented model with an incredible walk and a personality that has attracted a lot of designers, so I would predict that she is at the top of the most- wanted list,” says Alyssa Montemurro, editor of modeling industry site Modelinia.
From what heap of golden genes did this gorgeous and quirky creative ingenue emerge?
The London-bred socialite is a mix of looks, talent and — unlike the working-class Moss — enviable, high-society connections. Charles, her father, is a property developer whose grandfather was a politician, and his aunt was friends with Winston Churchill. Her mother, Pandora, is buddies with Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York. Delevingne’s godmother is none other than “Dynasty” actress Joan Collins.
She has two older sisters, Chloe and Poppy, who is also a successful model in her own right.
The youngest Delevingne was discovered in by Storm Model Management’s Sarah Doukas in the yard of her posh private school and signed in 2009.
“I’ve been best friends with Genevieve Garner, daughter of Sarah Doukas, since I was five,” Delevingne explained to The Telegraph in the UK. (Coincidentally, Doukas also discovered Moss at JFK while the then 14-year-old was on vacation.)
But modeling wasn’t Delevingne’s first career choice.
The catwalker — who also plays the drums — told W that she wanted to be a Disney star, specifically, Hannah Montana. (Luckily for the fashion world, her parents didn’t acquiesce.)
After signing with Storm she worked steadily, despite Marc Jacobs dropping her from his show in September 2012, according to Love magazine editor Katie Grand.
“I was trying to get her in the show, but it was the show in which everyone was very tall and very long … I remember Marc looking at me and saying, ‘Why is that dwarf in here?’” Grand told the UK’s The Sunday Times Style magazine.
But the pair have seemed to patch things up: Last February, Delevingne walked in both of Jacobs’ shows, and they’re now said to be “besties.”
Zee says it’s the model’s quirkiness — and unconventional looks — that make her a star.
“She’s not tall, and even when she’s on the runway, she is noticeably smaller than the other girls, but she stands out and is so striking,” Zee says.
Indeed, it’s that intangible factor that has ushered her rise into the heart of fashion’s most prestigious designers.
“Individuality and a strong sense of self is why a model — or anyone — becomes an icon. Cara is far more than the clothes she’s wearing,” Donna Karan tells The Post. Delevingne has been the face of DKNY since 2012.
Also impressive is the model’s social media prowess, one of the few areas where she and Moss diverge. Moss is famously private and has given only a handful of interviews in her life. Delevingne, however, is queen of the selfie and has more than 1 million followers on Twitter and more than 2 million on Instagram.
“One minute she’s posting a goofy picture of herself in a onesie, and the next, she’s posing for Fendi,” says Montemurro.
Her whippet-thin frame and trademark brows have even spawned Twitter fan accounts, such as Cara’s Thigh Gap and Cara’s Eyebrows. Though fashion made her a star, Delevingne — who told W that the stress of modeling causes her to develop psoriasis — still harbors dreams of acting. She made her big screen debut with a small role in last year’s “Anna Karenina” and was reportedly up for the role of Anastasia Steele in the hotly anticipated “Fifty Shades of Grey” movie.
It remains to be seen whether she will continue captivating legions of fans with her cheeky command of social media and her multifaceted career. But for now, experts say the sky is the limit for the Brit beauty.
“She can do anything. The reality is, the landscape of media is changing constantly,” notes Zee. “Whenever that time is, when she feels like she is done with modeling, she is going to be a big brand.”