Deviant la Vie; Timothy White Custom; Mugler; Alon Livné; Monsoori, Naomi Campbell in Schiaparelli Haute Couture; Ashi Studio; Naomi in Alexander McQueen, Adut Akech in Jil Sander
Who loves Naomi? WE DO! WE DO! Now, with that being said, can the industry show some love too? To other black models, we mean. Time and time again we see the push for diversity on the runway, but the lack of consistency behind it. We’d like an order of dark skin, with a side of light. Hell, give us some brown too. Treat yo’self. As an even bigger treat, we’ve curated a list of 50 our favorite models who, wait for it……. ARE BLACK! Let’s end the days of “we already have a black model” & begin the days where more than one black model on the runway is the norm. Here is the Clothoisseur’s list of 50 black models that you need to know, Part 1.
The Bordeaux-born designer is a graduate of the Paris fashion and art school ESMOD, and he worked at Roberto Cavalli in Milan for almost six years before joining Balmain.
After a decade at the helm of the French brand, his confidence has grown, he feels truly like an adult and the fashion house has multiplied in size sevenfold as he added pre-collections, men’s wear and accessories — along with heat and cultural currency.
Despite his youth, or perhaps because of it, he thrust himself and the house to social media stardom; put diversity and inclusivity at the top of his agenda, and took a community-building approach to everything he did, welcoming all to join his “Balmain army” as early as 2014, when he coaxed Rihanna to pose for one of his blockbuster campaigns.
Imaan Hammam, Naomi Campbell, Carla Bruni, Natalia Vodianova, Adut Akech, Lara Stone and Edie Campbell were just some of the A-List faces who modelled Rousteing’s signature designs, donning cut-out dresses, heavily embellished jackets and bead-encrusted shorts.
The Balmain Festival raised funds for his long-time charity partner (RED) in the fight against AIDS and Covid-19, and to aid women in third-world countries.
A jaw-dropping collection, a history-making night and a charity effort? It’s fair to say that for his 10th anniversary, Olivier Rousteing has scored a 10/10!
