'Racial Diversity Should not be a Trend,' Naomi Campbell Says

FILE - In this Oct. 21, 2016, file photo, model Naomi Campbell, center, arrives at BET event. AP
FILE - In this Oct. 21, 2016, file photo, model Naomi Campbell, center, arrives at BET event. AP
TT
20

'Racial Diversity Should not be a Trend,' Naomi Campbell Says

FILE - In this Oct. 21, 2016, file photo, model Naomi Campbell, center, arrives at BET event. AP
FILE - In this Oct. 21, 2016, file photo, model Naomi Campbell, center, arrives at BET event. AP

Racial diversity in fashion has improved in recent years, but the industry must not treat it like a catwalk trend, British model Naomi Campbell told Reuters in an interview. One of fashion's most recognizable faces, Campbell has long spoken of discrimination in the industry where she has worked for 33 years. The 49-year-old Campbell was the first black model to appear on the covers of French Vogue and Time magazine. She was also the first black model on the cover of American Vogue's key September issue.

Asked how the industry had changed, Campbell said: "In so many ways, but most importantly the diversity. It's finally sunken in, but now we hope people don't think it's in for a trend, like clothes are in for a season and out for a season, that's not going to happen."

Referring to equal pay, she added that "It's improved absolutely, I can't say it hasn't. There's still some ways to go."

Campbell began her career as a teenager and has modeled for fashion heavyweights, such as Versace, Chanel, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, among many others. She has also championed African designers and co-produced April's Arise Fashion Week in Lagos, Nigeria. Asked if African designers were finally getting recognition, she said: "We're on our way, but, we're not there yet."

One of the five major supermodels of the early 1990s, Campbell has featured on the covers of more than 500 magazines. However she wrote in this month's British Vogue she only recently began feeling more at ease in her own skin. "Just because I'm a model doesn't mean that I felt comfortable," she told Reuters.



Prince Harry Is in Angola to Raise Awareness for Land Mine Clearing, Repeating Diana’s 1997 Trip

Britain's Prince Harry remotely detonates a landmine at a minefield during a visit to see the work of landmine clearance charity the Halo Trust in Dirico, Angola, Sept. 27, 2019. (Dominic Lipinski/PA via AP, Pool)
Britain's Prince Harry remotely detonates a landmine at a minefield during a visit to see the work of landmine clearance charity the Halo Trust in Dirico, Angola, Sept. 27, 2019. (Dominic Lipinski/PA via AP, Pool)
TT
20

Prince Harry Is in Angola to Raise Awareness for Land Mine Clearing, Repeating Diana’s 1997 Trip

Britain's Prince Harry remotely detonates a landmine at a minefield during a visit to see the work of landmine clearance charity the Halo Trust in Dirico, Angola, Sept. 27, 2019. (Dominic Lipinski/PA via AP, Pool)
Britain's Prince Harry remotely detonates a landmine at a minefield during a visit to see the work of landmine clearance charity the Halo Trust in Dirico, Angola, Sept. 27, 2019. (Dominic Lipinski/PA via AP, Pool)

Prince Harry visited the African nation of Angola on Tuesday with a land mine clearing charity, repeating a famous trip his mother made in 1997.

Harry, the Duke of Sussex, met with Angolan President João Lourenço on Tuesday at the start of his trip, according to a statement from the Halo Trust, an organization that works to clear land mines from old warzones.

Princess Diana visited Angola with the Halo Trust in January 1997, just seven months before she was killed in a Paris car crash. Diana was famously photographed on that trip wearing protective equipment and walking through an active minefield during a break in fighting in Angola's long civil war.

Her advocacy helped mobilize support for a treaty banning land mines later that year.

This is not the first time Harry has followed in his mother's footsteps by raising awareness for the Halo Trust's work. He also visited the southern African country in 2019 for a land mine clearing project. British media reported that Harry traveled to Angola this week without his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex.

Halo Trust CEO James Cowan said in a statement Tuesday that he and Harry met with Lourenço to discuss continued demining efforts in Angola and thanked the president for his support for that work.

Angola was torn apart by a 27-year civil war, which lasted from 1975 to 2002, with some brief and fragile periods of peace in between.

The Halo Trust says there are estimates that around 80,000 Angolans have been killed or injured by land mines during and after the war, although there are no exact figures. The organization says just over 1,000 minefields covering an estimated 67 square kilometers (26 square miles) still needed to be cleared at the end of 2024.

Angola had set itself a goal to be land mine-free by 2025.