Naomi Campbell sets her sights on India as she graces 'Vogue' in Sabyasachi

Model wishes to explore the talent pool in the country for her initiative, EMERGE

Naomi Campbell began her career playing muse to the likes of Yves Saint Laurent and Azzedine Alaïa. One of the original supermodels—the big six, she was also the first to elbow her way into a fashion scene that, as Vogue puts it, was exclusionary and notorious for holding unrealistic beauty standards. At 18, Campbell became the first Black model to bag a French Vogue cover.

Today, over 66 Vogue covers later, she adds another to her cap while gracing Vogue India. The Super, who crowned India’s Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Miss World in 1994, has become a mother figure to a younger generation of models hailing from minority communities. And according to the magazine, she is on a new journey, with India on her radar.

“I love the country so much. I feel such peace here,” Campbell told the outlet. In the middle of planning her next trip to India to explore the talent pool that exists in the country, she added, “I just launched my new initiative, EMERGE, in Qatar and we’re looking to bring it to India. It highlights young creatives and gives them a platform so that the world gets to see them. The concept is to invest in them and bring them to London and Milan, mixing them in where they should be.”

Since the model’s first time travelling to India in 1994, she has visited the country multiple times, and worn Manish Malhotra and Sabyasachi during her stays. In 2009, Campbell flew down for a charity fashion show, in light of the Mumbai terror attacks of 2008. “Back then, I had walked to raise funds for ambulances,” she recalled. Campbell took the ramp at Lakmé Fashion Week for the first time in a sheer black sari from Sabyasachi. 

“I was approached by IMG to dress Naomi in one of my outfits, and for an icon like her, there’s nothing more iconic than the sari. The strength, beauty and power of her presence fit perfectly with a glamorous black sari,” Sabyasachi Mukherjee shared with Vogue. “When I was in design school, the most powerful supermodels to date had just exploded into fashion— Naomi, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Claudia Schiffer and Kate Moss. These are the people who have made fashion history, and they remain the original Supers. Naomi remains timeless and memorable,” he added.

Surprisingly, walking in a sari was not a challenge for Campbell. In fact, it furthered her relationship with the garment. “I love wearing a sari. I’ve worn them hundreds of times whenever I’ve come to India and I will always wear one whenever I come to the country,” she confessed. Campbell draws from the various cultural benchmarks of India, as she presents different versions of herself in Alaïa, McQueen and Sabyasachi for the Vogue India cover shoot.

Campbell appeared more enthusiastic to discuss Indian jewellery as opposed to fashion weeks. “I have quite a bit of Indian jewellery that I have collected over the years. I normally don’t wear any jewellery, but I’ve bought so much in the past,” she stated.

“It’s not just the front of the jewellery that I like but the intricate detailing that India does behind the necklace. These are beautiful details, and we just don’t see any of this workmanship anywhere else. I also love wearing emeralds, my birthstone, and I love collecting jewellery that is meant for protection and for well-being, especially when I’m in India,” she added. “I bought some while I was in Jodhpur, and then some in Jaipur and Mumbai,” she recalled.

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