Naomi Campbell: I want to see models of colour paid in the right way
Naomi Campbell wants to see models of colour paid "in the right way", without the need of specialised "diversity boards".
Naomi Campbell wants to see models of colour paid "in the right way".
The 50-year-old supermodel made history as the first black cover girl of magazines including French Vogue, British Vogue, and the coveted September issue of US Vogue, and has now said she wants other models of colour to be fairly compensated for their work without the need of specialised "diversity boards".
She said: "Now I want to see them pay models of colour in the right way. Now I want to see that the board seats are given, and no: 'Let's make a diversity board for this.'"
Naomi credits her pals Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington - alongside whom she formed the famous 'Trinity' - for helping her get noticed by designers who were yet to use models of colour at the start of her career.
She added: "They really put themselves out there, Linda and Christy, in terms of supporting me with designers back in the day who hadn't used a model of colour yet. We were friends outside of work."
And the model is still making history in recent years, as last year marked the first time she had ever worked with a black photographer on a mainstream publication when she appeared on the cover of Guardian Weekend magazine.
This year, Naomi had her first black photographer for a Vogue publication, but says people shouldn't be applauding the changes, and instead should be "shocked" that the photographers have "never got the opportunities" before now.
Speaking to The Observer, she said: "Everyone is like, 'Oh, wow!' But really, it's not, 'Oh wow.' It's, 'Oh, my goodness, that's shocking.' I didn't realise it when I was shooting [the Weekend cover], it was afterwards. And suddenly I start going back through my life and my work life and realise I haven't had that opportunity before. There are plenty of black photographers out there, but they never got the opportunities."
