Model Naomi Campbell Gets Her Own Exhibition at London’s V&A Museum

An assistant looks at dresses on display during a press preview for the "Naomi" exhibition exploring the career of fashion model Naomi Campbell, at the Victoria & Albert (V&A) museum, in London, on June 19, 2024. (AFP)

17:15-19 June 2024 AD ـ 13 Thul-Hijjah 1445 AH

Model Naomi Campbell Gets Her Own Exhibition at London’s V&A Museum

Naomi Campbell brings her stylish looks and runway walk to London's V&A this week in a new exhibition that the museum says is the first of its kind dedicated to a model.

"Naomi: In Fashion" looks at the career of one of fashion's most recognizable faces through key looks she has modelled as well as her influence and activism.

The exhibition, which opens to the public on Saturday, features glamorous frocks, towering heels, as well as a display of Campbell's fashion photos and magazine covers, curated by former British Vogue editor Edward Enninful.

"There's been so many exhibitions about fashion designers and fashion photographers but the model is often left out of the story," Sonnet Stanfill, senior curator of fashion at the V&A, told Reuters on Wednesday.

"And Naomi Campbell's remarkable 40-year career is really... proving that she's an exemplar in the field, because not only is she working with the best designers and photographers, magazines in the industry, but also she uses her platform to spotlight the careers of emerging creatives as well."

Campbell, 54, began her career as a teenager and has modelled for fashion heavyweights like Versace, Chanel, Prada, and Dolce & Gabbana, among many others. She has also championed African designers.

She was the first Black model to appear on the covers of French Vogue and Time magazine and was also the first Black model on the cover of American Vogue's key September issue.

Outfits on display include a mix of famous fashion names such as the late Gianni Versace and Azzedine Alaïa as well as African designers including Kenneth Ize and Thebe Magugu.

The sparkling Dolce & Gabbana dress Naomi Campbell wore on her last day of community service at a New York garbage depot - after pleading guilty to reckless assault for throwing a phone at her housekeeper during a dispute over a pair of jeans - as well as the blue platform shoes in which she fell on the catwalk at Vivienne Westwood's Autumn-Winter 1993 show also feature.

The exhibition, which runs until April 6, 2025, includes written and audio commentary from Campbell reminiscing over key moments of her career, as well as a makeshift catwalk for those wanting to imitate her runway walk.

Milan Designers Go Lighter in Silhouette, if Not Materials, for Next Summer

Models present Dolce & Gabbana Spring/Summer 2027 men's collection at Milan Fashion Week, in Milan, Italy June 20, 2026. (Reuters)

16:28-22 June 2026 AD ـ 07 Muharram 1448 AH

Milan Designers Go Lighter in Silhouette, if Not Materials, for Next Summer

Models present Dolce & Gabbana Spring/Summer 2027 men's collection at Milan Fashion Week, in Milan, Italy June 20, 2026. (Reuters)

In complicated, heavy times, Milan designers went lighter — if not in materials, then in silhouette.

Amid economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and a sweltering Milan Fashion Week, designers largely stripped things back for next summer, embracing clean lines and pared-down looks. Prada led the way, with co-creative directors Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons arguing for simplicity and familiar clothes reimagined through proportion and fabrication.

That didn’t mean dressing for the heat was straightforward. Milan’s runways were filled with leather and knits for the next summer season, suggesting that fashion’s elite may need generous air-conditioning, mountain escapes or higher latitudes to wear some of the looks.

Key trends from Milan Fashion Week menswear Spring-Summer 2027 collections that closed on Monday include the embrace of luxury materials, sartorial ventilation and lighter tailoring, while a few defiantly chose bling over restraint.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the season was the persistence of leather.

Prada’s leather combinations were inspired by the universality of jeans, featuring slim five-pocket pants matched with cropped flat-pocketed jackets that functioned as shirts. Other designers used woven and perforated techniques to make leather more breathable, even as temperatures climbed.

In Milan, luxury and practicality were often in tension.

After years of oversized silhouettes, menswear is once again embracing the body.

Designers broadly agreed that a well-dressed man still wears a suit. The challenge was how to survive the heat. The response was ventilation, with dress shirts left unbuttoned. Some were rendered transparent. Or they were simply done away with.

Long trousers remained dominant, but there was a shift toward closer-to-the-body dressing. Dolce & Gabbana pushed the idea furthest with microshorts that showcased muscular legs, while some brands exposed torsos.

Tailoring remained central to Milan collections, but in lighter, more relaxed forms.

Designers softened construction, opened necklines and experimented with fabrics and construction that allowed more airflow. The result was tailoring designed for rising temperatures without abandoning formality.

US designer Thom Browne, now under Zegna ownership, returned to Milan for the first time since 2008 with layered suiting that drew heavily on summer-friendly seersucker and pleated skirts for men, long a brand hallmark.

The message from Milan was clear: the suit isn’t going anywhere, but it is adapting.

Of course, restraint is not for everyone. While much of Milan embraced restraint, some designers doubled down on decoration.

Philipp Plein presented a crystal-encrusted denim ensemble that takes days of handwork to complete. Dolce & Gabbana also leaned into embellishment, including beaded accents that recalled coral.

If Prada’s vision was reduction, these designers unapologetically offered maximalism and glamour.

A lighter Milan calendar created opportunities for emerging designers to gain attention alongside the industry’s biggest names.

Martin Quad made his Milan debut with unusual tailoring tricks that got him noticed in his native Copenhagen, while Domenico Orefice embraced leather and richly woven textiles for his co-ed collection.

Japanese designer Shinya Kozuka's Shinyakozuka label made its Milan debut with one of the most poetic and summery collections of the season, epitomized by a bare-chested model in a billowing sheer coat in teal worn baggy white trousers.

Fashion

Gabriela Hearst On Designing for Soccer's Biggest Stage

Uruguayan fashion designer Gabriela Hearst, who designed the official uniforms for Uruguay’s national squad for the 2026 World Cup, poses for a photograph, in Montevideo, Uruguay June 3, 2026. REUTERS/Martin Varela Umpierrez

Asharq Al Awsat

07:17-22 June 2026 AD ـ 07 Muharram 1448 AH

Asharq Al Awsat

07:17-22 June 2026 AD ـ 07 Muharram 1448 AH

Gabriela Hearst On Designing for Soccer's Biggest Stage

Uruguayan fashion designer Gabriela Hearst, who is known for her eponymous ready-to-wear clothing line, has turned to her home country’s national soccer team with new uniforms for the 2026 World Cup, according to Reuters.

Hearst, who turns 50 this year, was raised on a ranch, where she says clothing carried deep personal meaning.

A family seamstress made garments to mark life’s milestones, often passed down through generations.

Hearst was the first Latin American to lead the luxury French fashion house Chloe, a role she held from 2020 to 2023.

Hearst, who hails from a family of cattle farmers, has said it was her husband, John Augustine Chilton Hearst, a member of the US publishing dynasty, who pointed out how her upbringing could play into her fashion career.

Speaking to Reuters while showcasing the tailored off-the-pitch sportswear at Montevideo’s Estadio Centenario — which played host to the first World Cup final in 1930 — Hearst reflects on national identity, the value of craft in the age of AI and how her upbringing in rural Uruguay continues to shape her environmentally conscious designs.

“It is hard to match football's popularity worldwide, so I see it as part of a broader multi-pronged mix, rather than something being replaced,” she said.

“For a long time, people didn’t even know where my country was, and now they do — and that’s largely thanks to football. Football opens the door, and then people discover the country beyond it,” Hearst noted.

She said it’s an honor to be Latina and to represent the quality and integrity of her culture — especially right now.

“Artists like Bad Bunny doing the Super Bowl halftime show, and even the Pope meeting with him, are examples of how wide the reach has become. I'm always very excited when the culture of my continent is represented, rooted in warmth, family, and strong values. I do think South America is having a broader cultural moment,” Hearst said.

Fashion

Prada Pares Back to Essentials in Milan Menswear Show

Models present creations by Italian fashion house Prada for the Men's Spring/Summer 2027 collection during the Milan Fashion Week in Milan, Italy, 21 June 2026. Milan Fashion Week runs from 19 to 23 June 2026. (EPA)

16:55-21 June 2026 AD ـ 06 Muharram 1448 AH

Prada Pares Back to Essentials in Milan Menswear Show

Italian fashion ‌house Prada unveiled a menswear collection on Sunday focused on a search for the essential, sending out colored denim sets and cropped leather jackets paired with slim trousers.

The collection, entitled "Clarity", aims to pursue the fundamental and the meaningful and bring to life pieces designed to stand the test of time, the brand said in its show ‌notes.

"The ambition ‌was to do something new ‌with ‘nothing’, against ⁠exaggeration, against complex ⁠material. Against useless design," designers Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons said in a statement.

Models walked through a futuristic set lit by neon strips beneath the floor and framed by transparent benches, under cold light.

Prada and ⁠Simons also sent down the ‌runway translucent white shirt-jackets ‌and trousers with visible seam construction, as well as ‌sleeveless V-neck knit vests with geometric ‌patterns.

Accessories included small pouches in leather and other materials designed to hang from the belt.

Founded in 1913 as a Milan leather goods ‌shop by Mario Prada, the company was transformed under his granddaughter, Miuccia Prada, ⁠from ⁠the late 1970s into a global luxury fashion powerhouse known for minimalist design and innovative materials such as nylon.

Earlier this month, the luxury group unveiled the inner-layer garment set to be worn by NASA astronauts heading to the moon, underscoring the brand's push to become the first major luxury player to make inroads into the space industry.

Milan Fashion Week began on Friday and will run until Thursday.

Model Naomi Campbell Gets Her Own Exhibition at London’s V&A Museum

Model Naomi Campbell Gets Her Own Exhibition at London’s V&A Museum

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Milan Designers Go Lighter in Silhouette, if Not Materials, for Next Summer

Milan Designers Go Lighter in Silhouette, if Not Materials, for Next Summer

Gabriela Hearst On Designing for Soccer's Biggest Stage

Gabriela Hearst On Designing for Soccer's Biggest Stage

Prada Pares Back to Essentials in Milan Menswear Show

Prada Pares Back to Essentials in Milan Menswear Show

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