Fashion may be fueled by trends, but Naomi Campbell has never gone out of style. The supermodel shifted the paradigm for beauty when she entered the industry in the mid-β80s, cementing her place in the firmament among fashionβs most famous faces by the early β90s. Three decades, countless covers and catwalks, and a few well-publicized controversies later, the still-working Campbell, now 50, is one of the most enduring and revered figures in fashionβand can work a camera or runway better than, well, anyone.
Itβs no less than fitting, then, that Campbell is Vogueβs November 2020 cover star, where she is celebrated as not only an iconic model but βa trailblazer, lightning rod, truth-teller, provocateur andβmost of allβmentor and mother figure to models the world over,β including recent breakout stars Adut Akech and Ugbad Abdi, according to a release sent to The Glow Up.
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βModeling can be a scary world, and getting support from anyone, let alone the trailblazers, means everything,β says Abdi, one of those lucky protΓ©gΓ©s. βMs. Naomi has taken so many models under her wing. I wouldnβt be here if it wasnβt for her being who she is, unapologetically. She is the blueprint.β
For others, she is an ambassadorβfor Black talent, causes and representation. βI feel like Naomi is one of those people who will just light the candle and let it burn,β Nigerian designer Kenneth Ize says of Campbell, who has personally promoted his eponymous label within the industry. βWhat sheβs done, I couldnβt pay for it! She knows the value of what she is bringing to the table, and that if she supports this brand itβs going to hit the next level. Naomi is an activistβshe tries to make sure that everyone is okay.β
For Campbell, itβs simply a facet of coming into herself, rather than primarily focusing on herself (a pivot most of us in or approaching middle age can relate to. βThere were a few things that I would do when I was younger that I was told were bad for my race,β she tells British writer Afua Hirsch. βNow the things I do are not just for me anymore. I think more of my culture and my race, as opposed to thinking about just me.β
βNaomi uses her public platformβas we all shouldβto speak against injustice and inequality,β says Anok Yai, another new star walking in Campbellβs legendary footsteps.
And like her friend and fellow Black Brit Steve McQueen, who recently lamented the unrealistic expectations placed on Black creators while they are largely ignored as influencers of British culture, Campbell readily addresses the βracism problemβ on both sides of the Atlantic.
βIβd rather have racism be right in front of my face and know what Iβm dealing with than to have it suppressed,β she says. βNo disrespect to the country I was born in, but we need to dig it up and bring it up and deal with it. No more chucking it down the sides.β
So, as another election looms in American and ongoing racial reckoning on both shores (as well as elsewhere throughout the world, most notably, Nigeria), does the woman who helped change the face of the modeling industryβand continues to push it to further expandβbelieve, as so many have stated, that this is, in fact, different?
βI absolutely believe we are going to get the positive outcome we deserve,β she says. βBut we have to do our work in making sure we get it. I think reparations are important for the people to really see that this is something thatβs been taken seriously.β
Vogueβs November 2020 issue, starring Naomi Campbell, is available on newsstands nationwide on October 27th
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