The supermodel recalls, in an interview, being reduced to tears upon seeing the color of her skin in the Italian Vogue cover since the make-up artist was not prepared for a black model.
- Jun 20, 2020
AceShowbiz - Naomi Campbell has called for the fashion industry to better accommodate black models, after revealing she was reduced to tears over one of her early Vogue experiences.
The star told BBC's Women's Hour that she was thrilled when she finally landed a cover on Italian Vogue, but the experience turned out far from ideal when the make-up artist on set wasn't prepared for a black model.
"I remember showing up to one job in Italy and basically the make-up artist said to me: 'Oh we didn't know you were black.' He didn't have the foundation for me," she shared. "He had to mix some colours and make up my colour. And that consisted of a lot of grey. And I remember when that cover came out I just cried."
"I wanted so much to be on the cover of this publication, it was Italian Vogue, but I didn't want to be grey. I went through that for many, many years."
Naomi, 50, went on to detail the sight she had to be taken seriously as a black model, explaining fashion editors "tried to put me in a maid's outfit or tried to make me a stereotype with dreadlocks."
"I said, 'No I will not be dressed like this, I'm not a gimmick,' " she insisted.
She admitted her refusal to be sidelined because of the color of her skin led to her being labelled "difficult" - but the star has no regrets over the way she handled the situations.
"Opening your mouth, you get called difficult. I never felt bothered by being given a label for opening my mouth," she said. "Why should I accept that when I could see my white counterparts look glamorous and beautiful and gorgeous in the magazines? Why did I have to be dressed in a stereotypical way?"
"So I spoke up about it. I've never kept silent about it."
