Bradford’s Kimberley Walsh has been named as one of the country’s top style icons and is to be feted this month by a top-selling glossy women’s magazine.

The Girls Aloud star, 27, has been photographed by top snapper Lorenzo Agius and will appear as part of a Women in Music special in Cosmopolitan magazine.

The sultry snaps of Kimberley will also be displayed in a high-profile exhibition of British Style Icons for the biggest ever annual fashion and beauty event held in the UK, which takes place this month in London.

The former Stage 84 actress who shot to fame when she was plucked from hundreds of hopefuls to form a girl group created by the reality show Pop Stars: The Rivals in 2002 recently took part in a gruelling climb up the African mountain of Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief.

While her latest project sees her in more glamorous styling than the anorak and walking boots she donned in for the epic climb in March, it’s also in a good cause. Lorenzo Agius: British Style Icons is part of the 30 Days of Fashion & Beauty 2009 gala party at the Natural History Museum on Monday, September 21.

The photographs – including those of Kimberley – will be sold off and a percentage of the profits will go to help the charity Breast Cancer Care.

Agius shot to prominence in 1996 with his striking images to accompany the film adaptation of Irvine Welsh’s controversial novel Trainspotting.

The October issue of Cosmopolitan, featuring the Women In Music special including Kimberley, goes on sale tomorrow.

e-mail: david.barnett@telegraphandargus.co.uk