Naomi Campbell, the iconic supermodel who broke barriers as the first black model on the cover of Vogue France in 1988, is honored with a groundbreaking exhibition at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum. “Naomi in Fashion” celebrates her forty-year reign in fashion.
In 1988, Naomi Campbell became the first black model to grace the cover of Vogue France. The 90s runway star, still influential today, will be the first supermodel to be honored with an exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London on Saturday. “Naomi in Fashion” traces forty years of the career of this London-born model, showcasing dozens of iconic looks that have marked fashion history.
The choice of the renowned Victoria & Albert, an art and design museum, to dedicate an exhibition to a model has been questioned. “The greatest models are not just mannequins,” states curator Sonnet Stanfill. They are “a source of inspiration.” “Naomi Campbell’s unparalleled poise and her chemistry with the camera are part of fashion legend,” she continues. Like Claudia, Cindy, Christy and Linda, no last name is needed to know who is being discussed: Naomi ranks among the top stars of the supermodel era in the 90s.
As a child, the iconic model envisioned herself as a dancer, like her mother. Nonetheless, at 15, an agent spotted her outside school in Covent Garden. Two years later, she had already graced several fashion magazine covers and walked runways in New York, Milan and Paris. The famous designer Yves Saint Laurent reportedly exerted his influence to ensure Naomi Campbell appeared on the cover of French Vogue in 1988. “God bless Yves,” she says about him on one of the placards at the exhibition’s entrance. The designer “truly helped women of color and changed the course of my career,” she explains next to a feathered dress worn during the fall-winter 1987 show, her first for Yves Saint Laurent.
To build this exhibition, Sonnet Stanfill interviewed the supermodel for hours. “She has an incredible memory. She remembers who she was with when she wore a particular outfit,” the curator recounts. She drew from her personal collection, including accessories, photos, clothes, and even her Concorde tickets between London and New York. Fashion houses also made loans.
A section is dedicated to the great designer Azzedine Alaïa, who passed away in 2017. From the age of 16, she lived with him in Paris and called him “papa.” He found his inspiration in what he called her “perfect body.” Magazine covers are projected on the walls. Videos of her runway shows for the biggest fashion houses are played. Among the exhibited looks is the Vivienne Westwood ensemble Naomi Campbell wore in 1993, featuring platform shoes at least 15 centimeters high. She famously fell, smiling, on the runway, and the photo went viral worldwide. Naomi Campbell is also known for her strong personality, far from the good girl image. In 2007, she was sentenced to five days of community service in New York for throwing her phone at an assistant. Every morning, paparazzi awaited her. “On the last day, I decided to… hold my head high.” She arrived, regal, in a Dolce & Gabbana evening gown, now exhibited at the V&A, and walked before the cameras. Since 1988, she has joined a group advocating for black models to receive equal pay. Since then, diversity has increased on runways. At 54, Naomi Campbell continues to walk the runway, as she recently did for Burberry. The exhibition ends with her tips on “walking like Naomi” and a runway to practice on. “Shoulders back,” move to the music, let the arms swing naturally, and of course, “keep your eyes on the camera.”
With AFP
