Where there’s Vuitton, McQueen and Dior... Dru is, too
PM’s National Youth Awards honours SAINT star’s stellar work
Published:Sunday | June 1, 2025 | 12:09 AM
It has been quite the whirlwind year of fashion firsts for SAINT International supermodel-in-the-making Dru Campbell. With lightning-quick pace, the young woman who graduated from Edwin Allen High in June last year has won over the powers that be of European luxury fashion and racked up advertising and lookbook campaigns for Dior, Christopher Kane, Paco Rabanne, and Alexander McQueen – all within the last six months.
Little wonder Campbell made the shortlist for the Prime Minister’s National Youth Awards for Excellence in Arts and Culture at the glitzy ceremony hosted last night on the lawns of Jamaica House by the nation’s prime minister, Dr Andrew Holness.
Informed two weeks ago that she was being honoured by her homeland’s government, the news was a pleasant surprise that also stirred introspection.
“I was excited when I heard. This award shows that working hard and putting out an effort in life can be rewarding, and it inspires me to work harder and achieve more so others can feel motivated,” she mused to The Sunday Gleaner on being among 87 other high-flying achiever nominees under the age of 30. “I hope this nomination inspires other young people to pursue their passions and make a difference in the world.”
She paid tribute to her SAINT boss, Deiwght Peters, and her agents of Elite Europe as the engine behind her success to date in the industry.
“I’m very thankful for my agent, Deiwght, who continues to shepherd the journey, as well as my SAINT family,” said Campbell, who turns 19 in December. “And, to all my Elite teams that open doors of opportunity for me to build a career.”
Pressing work obligations prevented Campbell, now in London, from attending Sunday’s event, where her farmer mother, Terry-Ann Williams, collected the award on her behalf.
“I am quite close to my mom, and I speak to her almost every day if I’m not too busy,” she shared of their relationship. “She loves farming, but I’m encouraging her to find another job path that would be more efficient and less labour-intensive.”
The Paris and Milan runway mainstay, who was recently hailed by industry authority models.com on its list of ‘Top Newcomers for the Spring-Summer 2025 Season’, has a full plate - and then some.
Out now is Campbell’s brand-spanking new campaign for iconic English designer Alexander McQueen’s Autumn-Winter 2025 pre-collection, which she shot in February in The Big Smoke with Theo Sion behind the lens and Sarah Richardson on stylist duty.
Co-featured with ‘it model’ peers, South Korean Song Ah Woo, Brits Libby Bennett and Finn Collins, and Aussie Charlize Beth, the sizzling-hot Jamaican star offered The Sunday Gleaner her take on the McQueen campaign images, which she laid eyes on just last week.
“I was very amazed and proud of myself seeing it. All the work the cast and crew put in truly paid off,” Campbell said.
Also in the mix was her recent Dior moment, walking the Cruise 2026 show in Rome, last Tuesday. The event was the swan song collection for womenswear creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri, who had a nine-year tenure at the French fashion house.
Hosted in Chiuri’s hometown in the gardens at Villa Albani Tolonia, the collection, which the Italian designer told Harper’s Bazaar explored “the dynamics between dress and costume, to question how clothes create this distinction between reality and fiction”, struck a chord for young Campbell. “It was heartbreaking and emotional for not only me but everyone that was there. I feel very sad about Maria departing Dior, and I wish I could have worked with her more,” said Campbell, who has strutted the catwalk four times for Dior’s seasonal shows and currently appears in their pre-fall collection global ad campaign lensed in Japan back in February.
Domiciled and working across Europe for the past few months, the proud Clarendonian – once aspiring towards a career in medicine before discovering the lucrative and world travel benefits international modelling provided – matter-of-factly declared her long-term goals.
“The things I am looking to achieve are, most importantly, financial stability, self-confidence, and lastly, career growth.”
Burying herself between the pages of fiction novels or discovering new ethnic restaurants in her leisure time, Campbell owned up to frequent brushes with homesickness of late.
To this end, she is planning a return trip home, eager to see and reunite with her four siblings. “I plan to come back this summer and spend some quality time with my family and friends. I haven’t been there since January.”
Besides Campbell, multiple models from SAINT International have been recognised for their global fashion imprints since the inception of the Prime Minister’s Youth Awards for Excellence in 1998. Previous SAINT awardees include Tami Williams, Kai Newman, Barbra-Lee-Grant, Shena Moulton, and Jonathan Brown (Jonny B), who have worked for top-tier fashion houses Balmain, Balenciaga, Dolce & Gabbana, Marc Jacobs, Prada, Valentino, among a slew of others.
The prestigious annual youth-focused honours – which this year was themed ‘Impact – Focused on Innovative Minds, Purposeful Action and Collective Triumphs’ – also celebrated achievements for persons aged between 15 and 29 years old in academics, agriculture and agro-processing, entrepreneurship, environmental protection, innovation in science and technology, journalism, music, volunteerism, national leadership, new media, sports, youth development, special abilities, and technical and vocational education and training.