Much has been written about Naomi Campbell’s penchant for lateness. Late on set. Late for runway shows. Even late for the unveiling of her own exhibition at London’s V&A Museum (more on that later). When I’m told she’s running a few minutes early for our video interview, I couldn’t help but wonder: could this be Naomi 2.0? When she logs on and promptly turns her camera off, I’ve got my answer – she may be more punctual, but she’s still Naomi Campbell.
As one of the most photographed women in the world, a description of Campbell’s physical appearance isn’t necessary. The supermodel, now 54, looks as flawless as she did in the ’90s. With her fellow genetically blessed coterie of Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford and Christy Turlington, the gawp-inducing quartet set a new standard for what it meant to be a model, introducing a new kind of celebrity. As well as fashion world dominance, A-list boyfriends and first-name global fame followed.
In the decades since, the Streatham-born model has dabbled in fashion design, played executive producer for Apple TV+’s docuseries The Supermodels and is the current subject of a V&A exhibition. In 2024 she walked Burberry, Balmain and Dolce & Gabbana’s autumn/winter runway shows, with the same hip swing Vogue once described as her ‘magic runway boom-boom’. She is one of the longest, highest- standing active models in the world. So no, she doesn’t need to turn her camera on.
‘What is a supermodel? Where should I begin?’ she laughs. ‘We’re not superhuman beings. We’re dedicated and committed to the business that we’re in and we try to find many different, colourful aspects showing that. And enjoying what we do, otherwise we wouldn’t do it.’
In the summer of 1985, Campbell, 15, was window-shopping in Covent Garden when she was spotted by a model agent. Before her 16th birthday she was on the cover of British Elle. ‘I was very quiet, and I watched, and I learned. I’ve always understood from an early age the word commitment, because I went to a theatre school. So if I’m going to commit myself to something, I’m going to do it my 110% best. And if I don’t know something, I’m going to learn it,’ she says.
As a burgeoning model, she learned from the greats. ‘I was very lucky to work with amazing creatives like Gianni Versace, Vivienne Westwood, Yves Saint Laurent, John Galliano. Just by working with these creatives, you got to get an inside view of how they worked and how they did all the things that they did. And so you learn from those masters, and you watch, and that’s what I did when I was younger.’
Campbell was the first Black woman to appear on the cover of Vogue France, and the first Black woman on the cover of US Vogue’s September issue. Off the runway, she was committed to championing diversity in fashion, whether phoning magazine editors and designers to demand they cast more Black models or supporting the work of the Black Girls Coalition, an initiative founded by model agent Bethann Hardison. Hardison, who has known Campbell since she was 14, has remained her mentor. ‘I helped Naomi navigate the modelling industry, but she always knew what she wanted to do. She always stood up for herself, or called out what she thought was inappropriate – if she wasn’t being paid the same amount as another girl, for example,’ she recalls. ‘Naomi had the attitude, but she was also an It girl. She had “it”.’
It girls need an It wardrobe and almost four decades behind the camera have informed Campbell’s eclectic sense of personal style, such as mixing a Chanel jacket with a piece from the 1930s, something ‘Azzedine Alaïa and Karl Lagerfeld encouraged us to do’. Campbell tries to stay away from vulgar (‘it’s not my thing’), likes ‘big, thick belts’ to cinch her waist and often relies on a pencil skirt.
This sartorial expertise has allowed her to step into the role as designer, a mantle she’s picked up thanks to a relationship with BOSS (she appears in their A/W campaign alongside David Beckham, Burna Boy and Gisele). The second drop of her collection, which first came out in March, will launch later this month. ‘I wanted it to be very flowy, easy clothes – clothes you can wear throughout the whole season. In this day and age, times have changed, and people want to have clothes and products that they can wear throughout the whole year.’
Inspired by Campbell’s on-the-go lifestyle, the 21-piece capsule is designed to take you from the office to dinner. The tailoring is key. ‘[It] is super important; how it lays on the body, and how it moves, and how it sits when you sit, how it creases, all of that.’ A famed stickler for hygiene (a video of Campbell’s airport routine, involving plastic gloves, masks and antibacterial wipes, went viral on her YouTube channel a few years ago), the base layers have an antibacterial finish, while the dresses come in travel-friendly, crease-resistant fabrics.
Designing is not her second act, nor third. Campbell is forever part of the fabric of British fashion, a cultural power player with a face and persona that’s launched countless luxury brands. Shrouded in lore, with her fair share of scandal, she has overcome adversity by having complete self-confidence. ‘She really does believe in herself,’ says Hardison. ‘She has a drive and ambition that a lot of people can’t see – the audience only sees the result. She knows she will get through a bad moment – she really is someone who was meant to be and do all she has done. I used to say Naomi has 10 lives. A cat has nine, but Naomi has 10. She’s always going to come back. She has a natural sense of fight in her.’
A tribute to Campbell’s career, featuring her most iconic outfits – including the Dolce & Gabbana evening gown she wore to complete five days of community service for throwing a phone at an employee – and the designers she’s worked with, form the basis of the V&A’s NAOMI: In Fashion exhibition. The first British model to have an exhibition of this kind, it’s testament to her relevance. Campbell describes it as surreal. ‘I still pinch myself. This is a place, an institution, the V&A Museum, that I used to drive by going to school. And never in my wildest dreams would I think that I would be in there,’ she says. ‘It was an emotional journey because so many memories came to light when I was doing it with the garments, and I remember the stories behind the clothes. It’s an honour, and especially being British, it’s an honour. Most of the time you see these exhibitions when the people are no longer here.’
This year has arguably been a professional peak, but for Campbell the best is still to come – raising her two small children. Naomi announced she had become a mother on Instagram in May 2021, with a post of her daughter’s tiny feet in the palm of her hand. A son followed in 2023. ‘My first and utmost priority is being the best mother that I can be,’ she says. ‘[When it comes to parenting] I draw from my mother and my grandmothers. I come from a heritage of women in my family that are very strong. I tend to reflect and to do things I found that my grandmother would teach me to do when I was at that age. And yes, it seems to work. They are easy kids!’
At both home and work, she’s happily inspired by the next generation – and will never stop learning. ‘I love working with new, young photographers. I love to see what their vision is of me, and how they’re going to photograph me differently from what I’ve been doing for almost 40 years. I’m still very passionate about the work that I do, and I care about the work that I do, and I want to do it. If I’m in, I’m all in.’
BOSS FW is launching at the end of this month and will be available at BOSS Regent St or hugoboss.com.