Today the supermodel Naomi Campbell turns 50! Not many models can claim a career like hers since she was discovered in 1986 at only 15 years old, Naomi has always been under the spotlight. In her 35 years of career in the fashion industry, she stands out and was the protagonist of many iconic shots. Among the many successes, the acknowledgement of her Fashion Icon status both at the CFDA Fashion Awards 2018 and the Fashion Awards 2019.
Nicknamed, the “Black Venus“, the supermodels was the muse of many influential fashion designers throughout the years, like Yves Saint Laurent, Gianni Versace, Azzedine Alaïa (that Campbell used to call ‘Dad’), and Valentino Garavani, that chose her for closing the last Haute Couture collection of the Maison designed by him, in 2005, before he left the Creative Direction of the brand.
Up until to this day, Naomi was featured in more than 60 covers only for Vogue (we can only imagine how many in total) and it was the first Afro-American model to be featured on the most prestigious cover of all, the Vogue Francia in 1988.
She was the first open to open up the exclusive doors of the fashion industry to POC, encouraging inclusivity. «When I first started, at the end of the 80s, I had to fight to receive the same paycheck as my colleagues that were doing my identical job», Naomi explained.
Charismatic, powerful, strong but not afraid to show her weaknesses (let’s not forget the tears at the fashion show for the Valentino Haute Couture 2019 collection that marked her return on the runway after 14 years) Naomi Campbell is a true icon. Captured by the most important photographers in the industry, such as Steven Maisel, Patrick Demarchelier and Peter Lindbergh, as well as being the protagonist of unforgettable moments, like when ended up on the news after falling on her 20cm platforms at the Vivienne Westwood AI93 fashion show (then when she posed for the SS20 campaign completely naked), or when at the Paris Fashion Week she closed the Saint Laurent PE20 designed by Anthony Vaccarello.
She was the first model to open up the exclusive doors of the fashion industry to POC, encouraging inclusivity. «When I first started, at the end of the 80s, I had to fight to receive the same paycheck as my colleagues that were doing my identical job», Naomi explained.
Charismatic, powerful, strong but not afraid to show her weaknesses (let’s not forget the tears at the fashion show for the Valentino Haute Couture 2019 collection that marked her return on the runway after 14 years) Naomi Campbell is a true icon. Captured by the most important photographers in the industry, such as Steven Maisel, Patrick Demarchelier and Peter Lindbergh, as well as being the protagonist of unforgettable moments, like when ended up on the news after falling on her 20cm platforms at the Vivienne Westwood AI93 fashion show (then when she posed for the SS20 campaign completely naked), or when at the Paris Fashion Week she closed the Saint Laurent PE20 designed by Anthony Vaccarello.
We can’t forget the amazing fashion show/event that Donatella Versace made for celebrating her brother Gianni, that passed away in 1997, where the top model walked down the runway next to her colleagues and muses of the designer, Carla Bruni, Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell, and Helena Christensen.
“Mother and Mentor”, for many models, like she describes herself. Naomi truly made history.
