Instagram @Hudayya
Naomi Campbell, was and still is a strong supporter of up-and-coming designers. Just few months back, Naomi Campbell closed the runway show at the Arise Fashion Week “30 Under 30” wearing Nigerian fashion designer Chukwuma Ian Audifferen. Shayne Oliver of Hood By Air relaunched the brand in 2021 after a three-year break, with the supermodel fronting the ad. Campbell also supported Grace Wales Bonner, her “Island girl,” in 2019.
Listed below are only a few of the model’s inventive youthful designers over the years.
Keneth Ize
Kenneth Ize, a Nigerian-born fashion giant, debuted at Paris Fashion Week in 2020, and he celebrated with a runway legend. Imaan Hammam opened the show with a striped skirt set, while Campbell closed it out in a striped Aso oke shirt dress, demonstrating her support for the Vienna-born designer (Campbell walked for the designer at his Lagos show, too). Campbell expressed her admiration for Ize on Instagram after the show.
Bianca Saunders
Bianca Saunders and her superbly designed menswear continue to elicit Naomi’s love. Following the unveiling of Saunders’ stunning male collection (her first in Paris) two months ago, the model hosted an intimate dinner at Soho House to celebrate the Lewisham-born designer’s success. The 51-year-old did it in Saunders’ autumn/winter 2022 collection, which included an ochre and brown shirt and fitted trousers.
Thebe Magugu
Naomi first showed interest in Thebe Magugu’s work in 2019, when he was a semi-finalist for the LVMH Prize. Campbell’s obsession with meticulously constructed objects hasn’t waned. Last spring, the South African designer shared a photo of the model wearing one of his spring/summer 2021 limited-edition dresses on Instagram.
Hudayya
Naomi championed a crop of exceptional African designers, including rising talent Hudayya, thanks to a cooperation with Nigerian culture and style magazine Arise. In December, Campbell did what she does best and walked the Hudayya runway in a royal-blue jumpsuit. “Thank you for your love and your wise words of encouragement,” the Nigerian creative wrote on Instagram, thanking the supermodel.
Robert Wun
Naomi celebrated the return of IRL shows in the city by organizing a party with the British Fashion Council to kick off spring/summer 2021 London Fashion Week with a bang. At The Windmill, the Platinum Jubilee Global Ambassador posed in a blue Yuyi pleated outfit from Robert Wun’s magnificent ready-to-wear collection with British Vogue editor-in-chief and Vogue’s European editorial director, Edward Enninful OBE.
