Naomi Campbell’s exhibition at the V&A this summer will be “revelatory” according to the London museum.
Opening on 22 June 2024 and titled NAOMI: In Fashion, this big blockbuster will “celebrate her career” and examine all 40 years of Campbell's rise to become the world’s most famous supermodel.
The V&A museum promises that the exhibition will be the first of its kind, and that it's been produced in collaboration with Campbell herself. The show will span from the moment she was scouted in Covent Garden aged just 15 to her most recent projects such as her collaboration with BOSS for their Autumn/Winter 2023 ‘BeYourOwnBoss’ campaign. BOSS — perhaps unsurprisingly — are the exhibition's sponsors.
Tickets for the exhibition are available to pre-order now, as is the accompanying catalogue.
What will be on display in the Naomi Campbell exhibition?
“We’re telling the story of a career through clothes — clothes that are extraordinary” the V&A’s senior fashion curator Sonnet Stanfill told British Vogue as the exhibition was announced.
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These clothes are mainly drawn from Campbell’s own extensive wardrobe of haute couture and ready-to-wear ensembles from key moments over the past four decades. These will be complemented by key loans from designer archives and objects from the V&A’s collection.
Highlights will include a dramatic 1989 Thierry Mugler car-inspired corset, Campbell’s silver bugle-beaded gown from Sarah Burton’s very final Alexander McQueen catwalk show at Paris Fashion week in 2023, and a pink Valentino ensemble worn at the 2019 Met Gala.
For many, the most recognisable item will be the pair of staggeringly high Vivienne Westwood platform shoes worn by Campbell in 1993 when she suffered a tumble on the catwalk, a moment that went on to be one of fashion's biggest bloopers.
In total, 100 looks and accessories will be on show, with visitors encountering designs by Alexander McQueen, Azzedine Alaïa, Burberry, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Gianni and Donatella Versace, Jean Paul Gaultier, John Galliano, Karl Lagerfeld, Kenneth Ize, Torishéju Dumi, Valentino, Virgil Abloh, Vivienne Westwood, Yves Saint Laurent and many others.
“For me as a fashion historian, what is so fascinating is the way that her 40-year career intersects with the best of high fashion” Stanfill has said.
Naomi Campbell herself has said that she’s honoured to be able to “share my life in clothes with the world” through this Victoria and Albert Museum show.
Fashion photography will also be a major feature alongside the garments. Striking imagery by leading photographers such as Campbell Addy, Nick Knight, Peter Lindbergh and Steven Meisel will form a selection of photography curated by former British Vogue editor Edward Enninful OBE.
In total, there'll be eight sections for visitors to explore.
First will be Becoming Naomi which goes back to Campbell’s childhood and the early years of her modelling career, followed by Supermodel and her establishment as an international fashion star in the 1990s.
There's a section on her intense personal and professional relationship with late designer Azzedine Alaïa, as well as a display relating her time in New York City.
The Spotlight section will explore the highly publicised moment when Campbell served a period of court-ordered community service. On display in this section is the Dolce & Gabbana gown that Campbell wore on her final day of community service.
Exemplar will look at her unique talent for modelling and her early collaborations with many fashion houses, while Alchemy will her explore her relationship with photography and photographers.
The final section — Archetype — recognises Campbell advocating for friends and emerging designers.
Campbell's close involvement does suggest visitors shouldn’t expect the most critical of eyes on the star subject. At the exhibition's press launch — held at London's Dorchester hotel in March — Stanfill said the model had been a hands-on collaborator and that “It’s not for us to tell Naomi’s story, we want her to tell her story. We want our visitor to hear her voice.”
But, creating the show clearly has been an emotional experience for Campbell. At the launch she twice broke down in tears as she spoke of being “overwhelmed” at the prospect of being the subject of a major show.
She said on display would be “a lot of personal items that I have never shown to anyone” and that “There is an intimate side to me that a lot of people don’t know and haven’t seen, and don’t know the stories behind the things I’m going to present. It has opened up my Pandora’s box.”
Naomi Campbell 2024 exhibition tickets and prices
Tickets for Naomi Campell's V&A show are available to buy now. The show is expected to be popular, so pre-booking is definitively advised. Tickets are £16 for adults and £10 for under 26s and students. V&A members will get in free.
The exhibition will also be accompanied by a brand new publication. Published in June, it will open with a specially commissioned interview with Campbell by fashion journalist Tim Blanks, and the book will also showcase 25 of the most striking ensembles from across the supermodel's career, personally selected and discussed by Campbell herself. It's a must buy for all Naomi Campbell fans who want even more info on her global success. Pre-order it here.
Fashion exhibitions are big business for the V&A. Their Chanel blockbuster closed in February and was a total sell-out, and the museum’s most visited exhibition ever was a survey of Christian Dior. Yet this will be the first time ever that the London museum will have dedicated a full-scale exhibition to a fashion model.
While the Naomi exhibition promises to be one of the V&A's 2024 exhibition highlights, it is not the only show of theirs this year with a sprinkle of celeb sparkle. In May 2024 the museum hosts a major exhibition of Elton John's photography collection with many famous faces included.
NAOMI: In Fashion — supported by BOSS — runs at the V&A in London from 22 June 2024 until 6 April 2025