Naomi regrets not ‘speaking out more’ on racism in the fashion industry

Naomi Campbell has reflected on her experience with racism in the fashion industry, revealing she regrets not ‘speaking out more’ at the time. 

Speaking to Marc Jacobs for Interview magazine – for which she also shot a striking cover shoot – the 50-year-old model spoke candidly about the choices she made as a young model starting out. 

The Steatham-born supermodel – who is of Afro-Jamaican descent – reveals she refused to be put in clothes that were ‘stereotypical’ of her heritage, and turned down jobs where she was paid less than her white counterparts. 

Regrets: Naomi Campbell has reflected on her experience with racism in the fashion industry, revealing she regrets not ‘speaking out more’ at the time

Although she was often asked to model clothing she didn’t like, Naomi revealed that there were lines she wouldn’t cross. 

She recalled: ‘There were a couple of times back in the day in Europe when I had to say, “No, I’m not going to wear this outfit,” because it was very stereotypical, and I wasn’t doing it. I’m not going to go on the runway looking like a Rastafarian.’

Asked if she now regrets any down jobs that she turned down, the Vogue cover girl insisted that it was ‘right to stand up for her rights’ and to ‘keep her integrity’ as a black woman. 

She reasoned: ‘It was worth my agent at the time not wanting to work with me because I didn’t want to accept something that was degrading to myself and to my culture.’

Striking: Speaking to Marc Jacobs for Interview magazine - for which she also shot a striking cover shoot - the 50-year-old model spoke candidly about the choices she made

Striking: Speaking to Marc Jacobs for Interview magazine – for which she also shot a striking cover shoot – the 50-year-old model spoke candidly about the choices she made

Taking a stance: The Steatham-born supermodel - who is of Afro-Jamaican descent - reveals she refused to be put in clothes that were 'stereotypical' of her heritage

Taking a stance: The Steatham-born supermodel – who is of Afro-Jamaican descent – reveals she refused to be put in clothes that were ‘stereotypical’ of her heritage

However, she confessed she did regret not ‘speaking out more’ at the time about her experience.

She explained: ‘I should have spoken out more, but back then if you spoke out, people wouldn’t work with you.’ 

Naomi’s career began more than three decades ago, starting out in the Eighties after being discovered by a model scout on the streets of London’s Covent Garden.

Integrity: Asked if she now regrets any down jobs that she turned down, the Vogue cover girl insisted that it was 'right to stand up for her rights' and to 'keep her integrity'

Standing up for her rights: Naomi spoke about her experiences in the industry

Integrity: Asked if she now regrets any down jobs that she turned down, the Vogue cover girl insisted that it was ‘right to stand up for her rights’ and to ‘keep her integrity’

Naomi explained: 'I should have spoken out more, but back then if you spoke out, people wouldn’t work with you'

Naomi explained: ‘I should have spoken out more, but back then if you spoke out, people wouldn’t work with you’

She landed her first Vogue cover at just 17 years old, and has gone on to land more than 500 covers for various publications in the course of her career as well as campaigns for the likes of Burberry, Chanel, Prada and Louis Vuitton.  

She has spoken in the past about her struggles to land work in the early days, as the only black model in the original supermodel gang of Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista and Tatjana Patitz. 

In fact, it was only thanks to their support that she got some of the top jobs.

The staple: Naomi's career began more than three decades ago after being discovered by a model scout (pictured in 1991 in the Alaia show in Paris)

Still the glam queen: And in black Marc Jacobs in 2019

The staple: Naomi’s career began more than three decades ago after being discovered by a model scout (pictured left in 1991 in the Alaia show in Paris  and right in Marc Jacobs in 2019)

Christy and Linda told Dolce & Gabbana they wouldn’t work for them unless they used Naomi as well, while Yves Saint Laurent threatened to withdraw his advertising from French Vogue unless it put her on the cover. 

Last year, Naomi spoke about how she was stereotyped as a result of her race and often treated as a ‘gimmick’.

‘In general in the fashion industry, we have not had the seat at the table that we deserved,’ she said on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour. ‘It’s not equality and that’s what has to happen in our business.’

Icons: Naomi struggled to land work as the only black model in the original supermodel gang (pictured: Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford, Naomi and Christy Turlington in Versace in 1991)

Icons: Naomi struggled to land work as the only black model in the original supermodel gang (pictured: Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford, Naomi and Christy Turlington in Versace in 1991)

She told how she was labelled ‘difficult’ when she pointed out the discrimination she experienced while on a job, but admitted she ‘likes’ the challenges she went through.

‘They didn’t squash me, they didn’t silence me,’ she said defiantly.

Naomi – who said she has missed out on magazine covers because of her skin colour. – went on to praise Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of US Vogue, for ‘fighting the powers-that-be’ to make her the first black model to cover a September issue in 1989.

She said: ‘Actually I think Anna Wintour has been very brave recently. She has admitted the fashion industry is too wasteful. 

‘And she also told me she had to fight with the powers-that-be to get me on the cover of US Vogue first time round, for which I am grateful.’ 

Breaking boundaries: Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of the US Vogue, 'fought  the powers-that-be' to make her the first black model to cover a September issue in 1989

Breaking boundaries: Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of the US Vogue, ‘fought  the powers-that-be’ to make her the first black model to cover a September issue in 1989