She remained unknown in the fashion industry up until 2008, when she was cast by chief creative director Christopher Bailey, replacing Agyness Deyn for Burberry's fall/winter campaign with actor Sam Riley. She got her first British Vogue cover, for the November 2008 issue, alongside Eden Clark and Jourdan Dunn in a feature celebrating British models. The following year, she was featured as the face of Karen Millen's spring/summer 2009 advertising campaign. Huntington-Whiteley received an Elle Style Award for 2009's "Model of the Year". She starred in a short film for Agent Provocateur playing a woman whose boyfriend forgets Valentine's Day. For fall/winter 2009, she modelled campaigns for Godiva and Miss Sixty. In late 2009, Huntington-Whiteley officially became a Victoria's Secret Angel, modelling for the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in New York city.