Naomi Campbell is excited to see African designers get the "notoriety" they deserve.
Naomi Campbell
The supermodel has partnered with Arise fashion week in Lagos, Nigeria, which was held last week, to support emerging designers from Africa and wants to help them get "globally recognised".
Speaking about her involvement, she said: "I was going to do it virtually and then I thought, you know what? I want to go and bring awareness to their great work. It’s important on many levels, because Arise gives these young designers a platform to be globally recognised, to be embraced by fashion weeks around the world, and really to be included.
"There has, in the past, been the wrong perception about the continent and the creativity that comes out of it. Right about now, everyone’s kind of got it, finally – for example, that Nigeria is one of the biggest emerging markets with the under-30s, so everyone is looking in this direction. But we don’t want Africa to be considered as a trend. These designers are finally getting the notoriety that they deserve – and they are going to keep their notoriety."
And Naomi has insisted she promoted the need for diversity before the Black Lives Matter movement and will continue to do so long into the future as it's what she believes in.
She added to The Observer: "It’s kind of embarrassing, in 2020, to finally have all of this happen, to wake up to that. You should have been doing that already - that’s my opinion. I have not really taken part in any of these discussions because I find them a little bit insulting. I’ve been pushing this thing for so many years, so now, for me, there is no change.
"What I’m doing is exactly what I was doing before this movement started – and I’m going to continue. It’s what I believe in, basically."
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