Naomi Campbell’s best runway moments
From the performance for Gianni Versace with the other top models of the '90s to the fall on Vivienne Westwood's catwalk
May 22nd, 2023
Naomi. Just the name. That's all you need, and you know who we're talking about. Today, as before.
Beautiful, statuesque, charismatic, proud, moody. Naomi Campbell is one of the most unforgettable supermodels ever. Born in London on May 22nd 1970, she began her career in 1978, at only 8 years old, appearing in Bob Marley's music video Is this love. At the age of 16, she was on the cover of Elle UK, she made her debut on the catwalk for Azzedine Alaïa, whose muse she became, and in 1987 Terence Donovan immortalized her for the famous Pirelli calendar. She entered the history of fashion as the first black model to be featured on the cover of French Vogue and TIME magazine, to modelled and opened a Prada show in 1997 and, still for the Italian brand, the only black model shot by Steven Meisel in an iconic advertising campaign. Campbell's true consecration came in the following decade.
Together with Christy Turlington and Linda Evangelista she formed The Trinity and then, with the addition of Claudia Schiffer, Cindy Crawford and her BFF Kate Moss, the Big Six, the queens of the 1990s catwalks. Friend and muse of Gianni Versace and Kim Jones, she was photographed by the most important photographers of the century, from Peter Lindbergh to Jean-Paul Goude, but her moments on the catwalk are unforgettable. Her ebony skin, almond-shaped eyes, captivating smile, firm gaze and, above all, an unmistakable, sinuous and feline stride like that of a panther have made her one of the top models most loved by designers. She sang George Michael's Freedom for Versace, fell during a Vivienne Westwood show, danced for Tommy Hilfiger, hold a gun for Versace, hold Kim Jones' hand during his farewell collection for Louis Vuitton and cried during the show in Piazza di Spagna shortly after Gianni Versace's death. She was so iconic that she even managed to turn her one-week community service sentence into an off-calendar fashion show in New York City, wearing a series of incredible outfits.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Black Venus, we chose her 50 best runway moments.