Naomi Campbell embraced the backlash while championing two emerging Black designers through her latest collection.
PrettyLittleThing x Naomi Campbell is officially live.
Ahead of New York Fashion Week’s official start on Thursday, Sept. 7, Campbell, along with emerging designers
“The process has been a dream come true, for me and the young designers that are featured [Thompson and Anate],” Campbell continued.
The supermodel also told People magazine that despite having nearly four decades of experience in the fashion industry, she was nervous during the show.
“I just wanted to make sure the girls were okay, that they could walk okay, that everyone’s going to be strong and poised,” she said. “I was saying, ‘Strong, strong, strong, strong’ and ‘be yourself, let your personality show.’”
Campbell added that she was so focused on her models that she didn’t prepare for her own strut down the catwalk, which she did at the show’s conclusion, hand-in-hand with Thompson and Anate.
“I was more concerned about the girls, and how they looked and how they felt,” she said.
When asked why New York City for the collection’s debut, Campbell told Vogue it’s because she may be a Brit by birth, but she’s a New Yorker “by heart.”
“PrettyLittleThing is a company that’s reached an audience worldwide. With streaming, you can also show wherever you want these days. And besides, I’ve lived in New York most of my life, even though I’m a Brit,” she said.
Since the collection was first announced on June 30, Campbell has experienced her fair share of backlash for partnering with the fast fashion retailer. Fans online expressed disappointment and bewilderment at a major fashion industry insider working with a fast fashion juggernaut. If the backlash has bothered Campbell, she hasn’t let on. Ahead of the show, she told Women’s Wear Daily her goals for the partnership despite the criticisms.
“As a changemaker, I thought this was something that was a good thing to do. I know that it’s fast fashion and that people have their criticism. I’m not denying them,” she said. “But as a changemaker, I felt this was a great way to effect change in the industry in getting my emerging designers recognized and seeing them on a global platform.”
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