The new face of men’s fashion
TEEN WITH DIFFERENT COLOURED EYES, BRACES (AND A JOB IN MAPLIN) IS TAKING MODELLING BY STORM
A STUDENT who lives with his mother in Walthamstow and works part-time in electronics shop Maplin is set to be one of the stars of men’s fashion week.
Kaine Buffonge, 19, is expected to hit the catwalk for some of the world’s biggest designers at London Collections: Men, which begins on Friday.
Buffonge, who is known for his braces, freckles and different coloured eyes, was scouted last September when he was on his way to play football in Westbourne Park with friends.
His unusual looks have made him one of his agency’s most in-demand models. Within two weeks of being scouted he flew to Venice to model for Diesel, and has since worked in New York, shot an A did as campaign and walked in London’s graduate showcase.
He is set to be busy at London Collections: Men, which runs until June 15 in Soho and will feature designers including Alexander McQueen and Tom Ford. But Buffonge, who is in his first year at the University of East London studying sports science, never used to like having his picture taken.
He said: “I had to get used to the camera. I was never truly confident in myself at school. I could never take pictures, I hated the word ‘selfie’ and all of that. So where I am now, it’s completely amazing to me.” He added: “Everyone says I’m like David Bowie. People pick up on it all the time. My mum always wanted me to go into modelling from a young age but I never took any interest in it. This sort of fell on my doorstep.”
Buffonge always planned to be a PE teacher but is looking forward to his first experience of London Collections: Men with agency AMCK. He said he feels blessed to be modelling, adding: “In February I went to New York and I was walking around the city looking at the lights and was just completely taken back by it all, I’m so fortunate.”
AMCK Models is running an Instagram competition to find a London model to follow in Buffonge’s footsteps as a new face of London Collections: Men. To enter, send headshots to @amckmodels using hashtags #AMCKmodelsearch and #scoutmeAMCK.