Hackney student picked for catwalk by Denzel Washington snapper

Teenager to become face of Fairtrade clothing.

A STUDENT from Hackney will be appearing alongside the likes of Lisa Snowdon and supermodel Laura Bailey in an exhibition to promote Fairtrade cotton.

Kaysha Wright was picked out by acclaimed photographer Trevor Leighton to be a face of the high-profile campaign, which encourages consumers to buy Fairtrade clothing.

Leighton, who has photographed everyone from Annie Lennox to Denzel Washington, selected Kaysha for her striking good looks and personal style – even asking her to wear her own jewellery and boots for the shoot.

“He liked me the way I was,” said Kaysha. “He said: ‘Be you. Don’t be the model.’”

The 19-year-old, from the Pembury Estate in Hackney Downs, has been modelling “on and off” since she was 15, but has never signed on with a modelling agency.

“My mum didn’t want me to make modelling my path,” she said. Instead, Kaysha puts herself forward for castings she finds online.

As an industry, she said “there’s a lot rejection. Luckily I’ve gotten good jobs.”

A student of global diversity and international relations at Leeds Metropolitan University, Kaysha is not pinning her hopes on a modelling career.

“I’d like to work for the UN,” she said.