Kate Upton for Sam Edelman

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American supermodel and Sports Illustrated cover girl Kate Upton has been announced as the face of New York-based footwear brand Sam Edelman and is to feature in the brand’s 2013 digital and print advertising campaign.

Victoria’s Secret’s casting director Sophia Neophitou-Apostolou may have pooh-poohed Kate Upton as Angel material – she famously said the lingerie label would never use her because “she’s too obvious. She’s like a Page 3 girl. She’s like a footballer’s wife, with the too-blond hair and that kind of face that anyone with enough money can go out and buy” – but the too-obvious model was the obvious choice for Sam Edelman, who’ve given her her first big campaign.

Upton, who’s seen in a classic black and white shoot, commented ‘I’ve loved Sam Edelman shoes for a long time, so shooting the ad campaign was a lot of fun for me’.

In the black and white shots, Kate poses in and around the brand’s coveted heels. According to Women’s Wear Daily, Sam Edelman and photographer David Lipman saw the 20-year-old wearing Edelman’s equestrian-style boots and then got the idea to ring up the blonde bombshell.

“We chose Kate because she isn’t stick thin. She’s beautiful and all-American,” Lipman said.

Kate’s predecessor was willowy French it-girl Charlotte Kemp Muhl; choosing Upton suggests the footwear brand is headed in a whole new direction. “It felt like the right time,” Edelman said. “It was a hell of a decision to go with an indie girl.”

As for the “indie girl” in question, Kate’s built up quite the resume for herself. Across the pond, she’s appeared on Vogue UK, Jalouse and Vogue Italia covers. Stateside, we’ve seen Kate in the pages of Vogue and on the cover of Carine Roitfeld’s CR Fashion Book. But aside from Skullcandy and her upcoming Super Bowl ad for Mercedes-Benz, she hasn’t built up many lucrative campaign contracts yet.

There’s also a forthcoming video that will accompany the campaign photos.

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