Britney’s TikToks boomed on Instagram during Paris Fashion Week towards the end of last year. Everyone quickly became obsessed with this model who walked down the streets or on the train – we watched her imagine how she would walk if she were a Versace, Gucci or Saint Laurent model. Even if people were not into fashion, they were watching her. When asked why so many people watched Britney’s power walk, Stafaniya Bruin, a model and Britney’s friend, who has collaborated with her on some of these videos said, “Maybe some people would like to be public and recognizable. So they look at those people who are not afraid of it.” As, let’s be real – all of us have done the runway walk at some point – be it in our bedroom, or on the road, feeling particularly fierce. How could we not relate to the model treating the supermarket aisle like a runway? Janice Dickinson’s reaction to her videos was: “Oh my god, look at her walk. She sashayed right through a group of people,” and wait for it, “My god, in twenty-five-inch heels!” Twenty-five or not, no one could stop watching her, and she quickly amassed 1.3 million followers on TikTok. Britney’s walk which gained so much popularity online, with followers recreating her walks, have a degree of performance to it. One of the videos starts with Madison’s line from American Horror Story, “Surprise bitch. I bet you thought you’d seen the last of me.” She had previously acknowledged that it was also about acting. “I definitely would like to try as an actress,” she casually mentioned, “The badass role or something dramatic and depressed.”

Britney’s modeling journey began when she was much younger, walking in fashion weeks in China, Russia and Moscow. Part of the reason why she decided to make videos of this kind was because of the difficulty she faced while trying to find a mother agency: “I just needed a mother agency ASAP. The agencies are kind of scared of something extra. But only ‘extras’ changed the industry. That’s why I decided to go ahead with my goals through the power of social media.” Stafaniya, who literally saw this trend being born before her, said that it was amidst all these difficulties, that Britney decided to “go on the street and walk like on the runway shows”. It has now made her a known face in Europe. These videos have allowed models and influencers to talk about personal issues through their walks. Britney once held up a card saying ‘Mr Plein book me as a model’ before entering a Philipp Plein show. As a trans person, Stafaniya often highlights the reaction of people seeing her walk down the streets – she has not faced any negative comments in real life – maybe people are afraid, she thinks. Kristy Ponomar who has walked for brands like Prada, YSL, Raf Simons and Schiaparelli and collaborated with Britney said, for her the walk means being her best self. Another model, Alex Giniagar, who found her videos online and later collaborated with her, said that these walks are a way to express his feelings. “When we film this ‘walking’,” said Alex, “I really like to see how people react to unusual outfits, model catwalks, heels on a guy etc. It’s one thing when you watch a fashion show, and quite another when you see a model walking down the street.” For Stafaniya, the shooting process is exciting, “I feel these emotions as if I’m on a runway - it’s like a drug - I don’t know how to explain it, I love this feeling so much. But as a trans person, this is an opportunity to tell people we are here, we are among you, we are normal people, like everybody.”

As the Russian-Estonian trans model and performer spoke to me about the kind of attention she has received online, she said, “This is what I live for!” Then she added, “No really. I’ve been manifesting it through my whole life, and I feel so happy now. But I still can’t wrap my head around it. I mean, it’s kind of a fairytale when your childhood idols and celebrities (start) following you on social media. Coco Rocha, Vlada Roslyakova, Naomi Smalls, even Bill Kaulitz!”