If there was any doubt that 54-year-old British model Naomi Campbell is a living legend, London’s stylish new exhibition, Naomi: In Fashion, puts the issue to rest. It’s the ultimate mic drop moment for the A-lister, solidifying her status not just as a fierce fashion figure but also as a bona fide trailblazer for diversity, whose 40-year career altered the history of the haute couture industry and the world of fashion. 

 The exhibition starts with Campbell’s ‘discovery’ at age 15 in London’s Covent Garden in 1985. Campbell tells the story in her own words via a voice recording, while on display is the ephemera of her early life as a model, including original headshots and contact sheets. Because of the chronological nature of the exhibition, it’s easy to get a sense of Campbell’s stratospheric ascent: One moment, Campbell stares fresh-faced in a non-professional chromogenic photograph looking like your average (albeit gorgeous) teenager, and then, in the next display, she’s laughing on her first Vogue cover. 

 Just two years after being discovered, Campbell graced the December 1987 issue of British Vogue in an embellished gold jacket designed by Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, which is also on display at the Museum. It’s one of around 100 looks that make up the exhibition, each sourced from Campbell’s own closets and the archives of the world’s top ateliers. 

Another major fashion moment in the early-years section includes a ‘fallen’ mannequin dressed in Vivian Westwood – including those 21-centimetre platforms, a tableau of the now-iconic runway fall of 1993, which helped further both Campbell’s and Westwood’s fame. 

 It’s also in this early section that tribute is paid to other pioneering black models like Dorothea Towles and Bethann Hardison. Campbell’s boundary-breaking moments are not overlooked either: In this section, we’re also presented with Campbell’s 1988 Vogue Paris cover, where she became the magazine’s first black cover model, and – as the exhibition continues – we see Campbell’s activism highlighted in her close collaboration with the advocacy group Black Girls Coalition, founded by Iman and Bethann Hardison, as well as in her relationships with revolutionaries like South African president Nelson Mandela.

 After her early years, the exhibition moves into Campbell’s uber-glamorous supermodel era, showing off her Time cover, when she was chosen to represent the supermodel phenomenon of the ’90s. There is also a room dedicated to her long-term father-daughter relationship with the Lebanese-born designer Azzedine Alaïa. The Paris-based designer called Campbell “ma fille”, while she referred to him as “papa.” It’s a touching admission, one that provides insight into the model’s private life. 

 From here, the exhibit moves into Campbell’s more outrageous New York years, where the model’s less-than-model behaviour is addressed. The infamous phone-throwing incident, which led to court-ordered community service in New York, is referenced here. Also on display is the slick silver Dolce & Gabbana dress Campbell wore on the last day of her community service. “The paparazzi were there from the first day [of my community service], treating it as if I was doing a runway show,” says Campbell via didactic. “So, when the last day came, I decided I wanted to walk out and leave with my head held up high. I chose to wear this.”

The crescendo of the exhibition is an installation of rotating photographs chosen by Ghanaian-British tastemaker and former British Vogue editor Edward Enninful OBE, with music selected by Campbell herself, including a Beyoncé track where the singer name-checks the model (“do the Naomi Campbell walk,” she sings in Get Me Bodied).

There’s also a dizzying array of outfits and iconic fashion moments here, spanning multiple levels –both literally and figuratively. It’s a summation of not just Campbell’s illustrious career but also the last four decades in fashion. For example, we see the black glossy Alexander McQueen feather coat that the supermodel wore to the designer’s funeral in 2010, as well as the frosted sculptural piece she wore at Sarah Burton’s final show for Alexander McQueen in 2023, which Campbell walked in tears. 

Also on display is a custom pink Valentino ensemble for the 2019 Met Gala fundraiser, a strikingly modern twist on a Hollywood regency boudoir number. The outfit underscores Campbell’s keen eye and collaborative spirit: It was her input and no-holds-barred feedback that shapeshifted Pier Paolo Piccioli’s original design and led to this frothy showstopper. 

It’s in this section, the show’s grand finale, that we see most clearly Campbell’s role as not only a muse but also a maker – of her own legacy above all else.

Naomi: In Fashion is at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum through the 6^th of April 2025.