Harper's Bazaar - 9/09 - Naomi Photographed by Jean-Paul Goude

Fresh off the heels of the commentary surrounding the Jean-Paul Goude homage (featuring Amber Rose) in Complex magazine comes this editorial by the photographer himself in the September issue of Harper's Bazaar. Goude makes no bones about his very narrow view of black women and "jungle fever" so I guess a spread featuring Naomi dressed in skins, jump roping with monkeys and running with a cheetah isn't exactly a surprise but it sure is disappointing.

source

Naomi Campbell - V Magazine #59 Summer Swimsuit Issue

s: (L)ONTD, (R)Playboy


Naomi is one of six models photographed by Mario Testino to land a cover for V Magazine's first swimsuit issue. The photo has that pop art + pin-up vibe and her skin looks great but overall I think the picture is a little boring. Maybe my eyes are still hurting from Halle's hot pink Bazaar cover. Funny how Naomi is wearing a Playboy bunny costume for V's cover but wore an actual swimsuit when she was photographed by David Lachapelle for Playboy Magazine back in 1999.

The issue will hit newsstand on May 6th.

Giant Magazine - May 2009 - Naomi Campbell

Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista for DSquared2 S/S 2009

Another year has passed and Naomi Campbell doesn't appear to be slowing her stroll one bit. Coming off the heels of a successful campaign with YSL, Naomi and Linda Evangelista will be appearing in a series of combative ads (shot by Meisel of course) for DSquared2. Look for these to appear soon in a fashion rag near you.



Did you ever notice that Naomi always seems to have the most provocative placement when she's in editorials with other supermodels? Here she's about to open a can of serene yet effective whoop-ass on Linda. last February, she held Kate Moss in a choke hold on the cover of Paris Vogue...



...and was in full booty display mode for Vanity Fair (yeah Claudia showed hers too but that booty looked like it was created by Photoshop and she at least had fabric covering her legs.) The look on Naomi's face says "freak out with your cheeks out!"



Does the D2 ad remind anyone else a little of those Dutch Sony PSP ads that caused a lot of controversy?



That aside, I'd be fibbing if I said that I didn't like the Naomi/Linda photo. It takes me back to that episode of Dynasty where Krystal and Alexis got into that pool fight. I'm imagining that in this version, Naomi and Linda are fighting over the last Russian billionaire on Earth.

You know who's going to win, right? What do you think yeah or nay on DSquared2?

Source: models.com and Richard (thanks!)

ETA:



Source: blackangel41999, vogue.co.uk

Naomi Campbell - Vogue China January 2009

Photographed by Mario Sorrenti. She looks a little different in the face, don't you think?

Naomi Covers Russian Vogue - December 2008

Outside it's diamonds and fur, inside Mert & Marcus go for a "wilder" look.
source: ferry coal/TFS

POP Magazine Fall/Winter 2008 Covers

The newest issue of POP Magazine looks like it's taking cues from last month's wildly successful issue of Italian Vogue. The Fall/Winter issue will feature six cover models including Jourdan Dunn, Oluchi, and of course Naomi Campbell.

Source: TFS/Myspace

Vanity Fair Magazine - 9/2008 - A League of Their Own

I spotted this at TFS (posted by Miss NYC.) I no longer have a subscription to Vanity Fair but I'll see if I can scan a readable version of the article by this weekend.

No comment on Naomi's booty.

Source: TFS via FWD

Naomi Stars in Photographer's Political Short Film

Naomi Campbell, the hardest working black woman in the fashion industry, is currently starring in an 'untitled' short film about fashion and racism by photographer Nick Knight. Knight's first political fashion film tackled the issues of feminism and body size. In the film Knight explores why racism persists in the fashion industry that historically has thrived on innovation and inclusion. 

You can watch the film here.

There really isn't much to it. It lasts a little over two minutes. In it, Ms. Campbell wears two dresses (one black, one white get it?)  by Rodarte and shoes by Christian Louboutin. She stands in front of a solid background holding two semi-automatic weapons pointed at the camera. The camera shifts from focusing on her to showing text written by Knight on his experiences.

Text explains that although Knight has worked for a variety of clients in the industry, he is rarely allowed to photograph black models. The reasons for this are rarely given but he says he has been told that black models are "not right for the brand" or "aspirational" enough for some markets. He goes on to say that he feels guilty for accepting this racism and further allowing it to be normalized in the industry. He goes on to say that "by denying people the right to be seen as beautiful, you cause deep cultural resentment," and that "profit can not be a justification for bigotry and racism."

Naomi starts firing the guns. Her expression vacillating between dourness and joy. At one point she's seen sitting on a tank, straddling the long black tank gun. Then the film ends.

Do I get the imagery? Not really. I don't get why she has to be holding a machine gun. Hasn't that been done before? Is Wright trying to frighten viewers but outfitting the often temperamental model with a weapon able to cause more damage than a cell phone? Whatever the meaning behind it, I was encouraged a bit to see someone in the industry acknowledge their own part in perpetuating this problem.

I'd like to hear what you think of it.

Source:NYMag, Showstudio, Ferry Coal

Naomi Campbell and Stefano Pilati on i-D Magazine

She really is everywhere right now. YSL seems to be making the most of this collaboration. I think her skin looks flawless here but her positioning is a little...odd.

source:scanned by Northern Star

Naomi Spread from July 2008 Italian Vogue

Yep, another Naomi post but at least this one is a provides a peak inside the July issue of Italian Vogue.  These pictures are pretty much what I'd expect from Steven Meisel (lush colors, lonely women and expensive lingerie.) I find it amusing that they managed to work Naomi's YSL Hammer pants into the spread. Does she ever take those things off?

Source: Style.it, 212DRESSINGROOM

Naomi for YSL Fall '08

The collection won't be in stores until July 8th but here is a sneak peek at the ad campaign featuring Naomi Campbell.  The ads were photographed by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin and they should be commended for making those sequined genie pants look so good. I didn't care much for the collection as it was presented on the runway. It felt like it was designed for women from the future who listen to techno music and don't like to smile. That said there are still two or three pieces that I would shove in my bag if they fell off the back of a delivery truck. Take a peek at the rest of the collection on Style.com or here.

ads scanned and uploaded by oh jane (thank you!)

Naomi and ALT at the CFDA Awards

My eyes don't know where to land on this picture.

I don't even know who I am more mad at -- Naomi for those sequined harem pants or Andre for, well everything really.

In Naomi's defense, she is wearing clothing from Yves Saint Laurent's Fall 08 collection as an homage to the recently deceased designer. Andre is wearing a hand towel, my grandma's favorite house slippers and two albino anacondas accessorized with a fancy silver eyeglasses case from Claire's boutique.

The awards, which honor outstanding contributions to the American fashion industry, were held last night at The New York Public Library.

For a list of winner and more pictures click here.

Photo source: Dlisted

Oh Naomi!

According to The Times, Naomi Campbell had to be removed from a flight out of London's Heathrow airport last night after pitching a fit over a missing piece of luggage. Later, she was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police office and was seen "ranting" and "screaming" as she was lead away.

Her fabulousness aside, I can't defend her actions if they are true but I will say that the only place I've ever come thisclose to losing my mind was at Heathrow airport and all my crappy luggage was with me.

No word on what became of her luggage but an airline employee was seen leaving the employee locker room looking fierce.

Summer's Bare Necessities

This is truly a unique editorial and is one of my all time favorites. It features Naomi Campbell, Tyra Banks and Beverly Peele and was photographed by Patrick Demarchelier for American Vogue, May 1992.
Source: scanned by hfgl

In other Blogs...

A post called "Darker Skinned Glamour Girls" on Racialicious caught my eye this morning. In it Latoya Peterson wrote about something she noticed while paging through an issue of the UK beauty magazine "Pride." She writes:

Hmm, I thought to myself, they have a lot of dark skinned women in this magazine. Wonder why?

Then I wondered to myself why I thought it would be strange to have dark skinned women in a magazine that caters to black women. That should have been a no-brainer. So why was I surprised?

and later,

It just seems like fashion has a specific look that is acceptable for dark skinned women. It is almost as if the woman is not dark with close cropped hair and a bone-thin physique, she simply does not exist.

I've had that same thought go through my head. Nothing will get me to pause on a page longer than the inclusion of a woman with dark skin. It's like I'm staring at a unicorn or something.

Aside from Naomi, off the top of my head I'm having a little trouble thinking of a "glamour girl" model who has very dark skin and honestly even Naomi is probably somewhere in the middle of our color spectrum.

This is not to imply that they aren't out there but when one does see them, they usually fall into a certain mold.

There seems to be a handful of lovely Africans dividing up some of the crumbs brushed down to non-white models in the industry but in spite of the many different types of beauty represented on that continent, most fashion mucks seem to only want to focus on the girls with keen features like Liya Kebede or the cropped hair darker skinned models like Alek or Ajuma.

The first type can appear in the Estee Lauder and Tiffany and Co. ads while the latter is going to see a lot of leopard skin in the course of her career.

Of course there are exceptions.

Sessilee Lopez is currently appearing in ads for Lanvin but her dark skin is seemingly used as one the stylist's props.

Also, Naomi is still thriving in her career but she is such an icon at this point that it hardly seems fair to compare her success to the plight of a model of color with no real name recognition. Her ads for Pinko (see above photo) has the feel of a celebrity endorsement.

Of course, none of this is new especially in this industry but I always find myself hoping that one of these days I'll be surprised in a good way when paging through a mag.

photo source: TFS/simplylovely

Naomi in Paris Match (1996)

Photography by Patrick Demarchelier in 1991.
Source: Omifan9/TFS

Why I Don't Blame Naomi for Throwing a Cell Phone Every Now and Then

via The London News

Black models have little hope of making it big, the founders of one of the world's biggest model agencies said today.

Carole White, who founded Premier Model Management, said even Naomi Campbell, who she represented for 17 years, failed to make as much money as her white contemporaries who include Kate Moss and Claudia Schiffer.

Her words echo the feelings of the supermodel who recently said she gets a "raw deal" in England.

White said: “A black girl has to be perfect to get work. The bookers are told “don’t send any ethnic girls”.

“I showed a picture of a new black girl to an agent in Milan and he actually recoiled. He said: “We don’t have black girls in Milan. It’s impossible”.”

She added: “Black girls never make money. Even Naomi Campbell didn’t make money like the white girls did’ she was always offered less.”

Six months ago Campbell launched her own campaign to find new black talent. She had planned to launch a model scouts agency in Kenya.

"Black models are being sidelined, even myself, I get a raw deal from my own country in England.”

"It’s a pity people don’t appreciate black beauty," she said.

Vogue Paris 2/08 : Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss

Naomi has been racking up the covers lately hasn't she? She covered Marie Claire (Spain) in December of last year solo and now here she is again on French Vogue with Kate Moss.

She was the first Black model to get a French Vogue cover though she later remarked that the only reason she got the cover was at the insistence of Yves Saint Laurent himself. I had high hopes for the cover when I first read about it on The Fashion Spot but I'm not wild about the photos. Naomi looks like she's holding Kate hostage, maybe that's why explains the "Wanted!"text splashed underneath the photo. Hmmm....I'll stop writing now before someone accuses me of never being happy with anything.

Inside photos and another FV cover (with Christy Turlington) to follow:



Photo Source: TFS/Vini

Naomi Campbell - French Vogue 4/91

Photographed by Pаtrick Dermаrchelier/Source: foto_decadent livejournal