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.
