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)
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)
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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)
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)

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.



Shein Reportedly Keeps Option to List in Hong Kong as Backup

This photo taken on June 11, 2024 shows employees walking through the lobby of the fast fashion e-commerce company Shein outside its office in Guangzhou in southern China's Guangdong province. (Photo by Jade GAO / AFP)
This photo taken on June 11, 2024 shows employees walking through the lobby of the fast fashion e-commerce company Shein outside its office in Guangzhou in southern China's Guangdong province. (Photo by Jade GAO / AFP)
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Shein Reportedly Keeps Option to List in Hong Kong as Backup

This photo taken on June 11, 2024 shows employees walking through the lobby of the fast fashion e-commerce company Shein outside its office in Guangzhou in southern China's Guangdong province. (Photo by Jade GAO / AFP)
This photo taken on June 11, 2024 shows employees walking through the lobby of the fast fashion e-commerce company Shein outside its office in Guangzhou in southern China's Guangdong province. (Photo by Jade GAO / AFP)

Online fast-fashion group Shein is keeping alive a fallback option to list in Hong Kong despite filing for a London listing, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the situation.
The company confidentially filed papers with Britain's markets regulator in June, two sources told Reuters on Monday, kicking off the process for a potential London listing later this year.
The news has triggered strong opposition from human rights groups in the UK over concerns about Shein's labor practices. Amnesty International UK said the potential London initial public offering would be a "badge of shame" for the LSE.
Shein's plans remain in flux and there is no certainty that it will end up listing in London even if that is the company's current focus, the FT report said.
The company did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Shein, which was valued at $66 billion in a fundraising round last year, began to explore a listing on the London Stock Exchange early this year, Reuters reported in May, citing sources. Its original plan to list in New York came unstuck following opposition from US lawmakers.
Some senior British lawmakers have also questioned Shein's suitability and called for greater scrutiny of its labor practices, supply chain and use of an import tax exemption.