Naomi Campbell almost missed Kanye West’s fashion show due to a foot injury.
The 45-year-old supermodel – who has launched her retrospective two-volume, $1750 collectible edition ‘Naomi Campbell’ published by Taschen with annotations from her 25 years at the forefront of the fashion industry – contemplated rejecting the offer to walk in the ‘Bound 2’ rapper’s recent Yeezy Season 3 show at Madison Square Garden in New York in February because she was in pain.
Speaking to Vanity Fair magazine about the event, she said: "At first, I was like, ‘Oh, no. I’ve got a bad foot. I can’t do it.’ "
However, the catwalk icon – whose career has spanned four decades – decided to walk through the pain and sought medical attention and taped up her limb to grace the runway at the iconic venue.
She said: "I’ve always wanted to walk as a model in Madison Square Garden."
However, Kanye’s showcase was unorganised and Naomi had to organise her fellow models backstage in preparation for the catwalk.
She explained: "When I said [backstage], ‘When do they need us?’ no one could really answer me. And then they said, ‘Kanye is going to feel organically when to call you. As an artist, he’s going to feel in the music when to call you.’ So I said, ‘You know what? Guys, let me get dressed now because I feel like Kanye’s going to come and yank us out of the chair and we’re not going to be ready!’
"I never saw anything like that before … I think it’s brilliant. I think, you know, to each his own, and good luck to everyone and good luck to him."
Meanwhile, the ‘Empire’ star has admitted that modelling has massively evolved since she emerged at the age of 15 after being scouted by Synchro modelling agency whilst window shopping in Covent Garden in London.
She said: "It’s different now … It’s just such a different time. And in my time, it was the designers and the photographers who were very supportive of the models. We had much closer relationships … It was a much smaller circle. We were very supportive, my group of ladies (Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista).
"Today, there’s just so many more girls out there wanting the same thing. You’ve got to really be that extra-special something, you know?"
Foot injury nearly kept Naomi Campbell out of Kanye’s fashion show
