By any measure, that the V&A has chosen to profile Naomi Campbell with a dedicated exhibition is impressive. The only cultural figures it has previously documented with their own shows are David Bowie and Kylie. After walking through the stages featuring over 100 looks worn by the 54 year old supermodel over the course of a 40 year career, her significance is unassailable. Yes, this is about Campbell, but it also serves as a comprehensive visual history of the fashion industry as a whole over the past four decades - the duration of which she has been a central conduit.
It opens with the plucky 15 year old ballet student from Streatham, spotted by Beth Boldt after school in Covent Garden so the legend goes. She’d bunked off and was wearing her mother’s jacket and shoes speaks Campbell on a voice over of her modelling origin story. She didn’t tell her mum, not wanting to alert her to her careering around the city unbound.
Her ascent quickly decimated the lie. She was on the cover of ELLE before she turned 16. At 17 she was living in New York, at 18 the first black model to appear on the cover of French Vogue. The first cabinet features her old ballet shoes, a school photo as well as a Concord boarding pass and backstage pass for Yves Saint Laurent. ‘It wasn’t unusual for me to be in New York on Monday, leave that night for Paris, come back on Tuesday and criss-cross the Atlantic up to three times that week.’ She is quoted.
A dressing room set up showcases her world, a Louis Vuitton case open with notes to Sarah Burton (the ex designer of Alexander McQueen) room cards from Claridges, a polaroid camera and copy of Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom. Sadly absent is her own 1994 novel Swan.
Homage is paid in a short film to the trailblazing Black models which came before and alongside Campbell - including Karen Alexander, Veronica Webb and Beverly Peele. The glamour is laid on - here a feathered cocktail frock from Yves Saint Laurent, credited by Campbell for threatening to pull advertising from French Vogue unless she was on the cover. ‘He was a designer... who really helped women of colour and he changed the course of my career’. Versace’s Andy Warhol dress, Thierry Mugler car corset and Chanel two-piece add to the line up of iconic fashion pieces.
There is, of course, George Michael’s Freedom 90’ soundtracking a video montage of Campbells’ career highlights, from starring in his video of that song, endless catwalk appearances - including the Versace finale reprisal alongside her fellow supers Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington and Linda Evangelista - and dancing with Michael Jackson in the Herb Ritts directed in The Closet. She is seen hugging Michael and Nelson Mandela (whom she calls Grandad) and the graceful tumble from Vivienne Westwood's blue moc-croc 30.5cm platforms in 1993. Those shoes (a feature of the V&A’s permanent collection) are here, styled with the full look on a fallen mannequin.
“I’m late but Naomi is always later than me, even at my own wedding she was later than me”
A section dedicated to her close relationship with the late Azzedine Alaïa follows, featuring among other sensational pieces, the shoes he created with its heel based on her legs. Of her body he is quoted as saying, “her muscle structure is like that of a racehorse”.
It moves onto a video wall featuring, among many more, Kate Moss (“I’m late but Naomi is always later than me, even at my own wedding she was later than me”) to Janet Jackson (“Do I look nice. I gotta look nice because I’m talking about someone who is flawless. The walk, the walk, can we talk about the walk?”) and Usher (“The first time I met Naomi Campbell was in a dream”).
Balanced against the effusive gushfest of her high profile fans, is a grounding of sorts. Opposite is an awkward corner addressing her conviction for third degree assault for hurling a phone at her assistant. Ever the professional, we are shown the W magazine story which she shot while on her five days of community service, wearing full Dolce & Gabbana looks, obviously.
Upstairs and the fabulousness is blown out - screens show her endless magazine covers from Vogues to Playboy, fashion shoots, shows and campaign imagery. Double decker stages feature outfits from Alexander McQueen’s final Plato's Atlantis show, the pink feathered Valentino gown she wore to the 2019 Met Gala to, rather brilliantly, her peak Covid airport Hazmat-suit look.
If inspired you too can aim to emulate Campbell’s signature snaking walk, take your own turn on the interactive catwalk video set up here. You might leave feeling slightly like you’ve been brainwashed into adoring Ms Campbell, but this is a major demonstration of the exclusive position our girl from Streatham has held at the centre of the fashion industry - and in the face of blatant racism - very much against the odds.
You can’t help but be blown away by her tenacity and skill. There is still no one who prowls a catwalk quite like Campbell - as someone who’s had the thrill of seeing her live a fair few times, it's always a treat. Go and revel in it. In the words of Boy George, “There could only ever be one Naomi”.
