The first time North Carolina guard Deja Kelly knew it was really real, that her partnership to model Sports Illustrated swimsuits for their Forever 21 collection was more than just a photoshoot and social media posts, she unassumingly walked into a store in Massachusetts with her mother.
They weren’t sure if the advertising would just be local, so they didn’t expect to see it up North. Yet there it was. The display that showed the 5-foot-8 junior modeling a swimsuit at one of her favorite clothing stores.
“Of course, my mom is extra and she’s telling people in the store, ‘Guys, this is my daughter.’ So that was her bragging moment, too,” Kelly said. “That first time that I saw myself in the stores was really exciting. I truly just felt blessed honestly, in that moment, I was at a loss for words.”
