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Naomi Campbell’s enduring fashion career will be celebrated with a London museum exhibition

  • March 19, 2024

LONDON — After four decades in fashion, the queen of the catwalk is getting her own exhibition.

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London is launching “NAOMI: In Fashion,” a celebration of Naomi Campbell’s enduring career. The exhibition, which opens in June, will showcase memorable designer outfits worn by Campbell, one of the most recognizable models and Black women in the world.

“I’m honored to be asked by the V&A to share my life in clothes with the world,” Campbell, 53, said in a statement.

Sonnet Stanfill, a fashion curator at the museum, called Campbell “one of the most prolific and influential figures in contemporary culture.”

The exhibition will include some 100 looks and accessories from the biggest names in fashion, from Chanel and Dolce & Gabbana to Versace, Yves Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen and many others.

Highlights include a 1989 Thierry Mugler car-inspired corset made from plastic and metal, a bubble-gum pink Valentino gown and feather cape Campbell wore at the 2019 Met Gala and staggeringly high Vivienne Westwood platform shoes worn by Campbell during her famous 1993 catwalk fall.

The London-born Campbell attended stage school from a young age and started her career at 8, when she began performing in music videos for Bob Marley and Culture Club.

The aspiring dancer was approached by a model agent when she was 15, and within two years she was strutting down catwalks in Paris and Milan. She was the first Black model to appear on the cover of Vogue France in 1988.

Part of the exhibition focuses on Campbell’s personal and professional relationship with the late Tunisian-born designer Azzedine Alaïa, who opened his Parisian home and studio to a young Campbell. She inspired his work, while he helped advance her career.

Curators said that the show will

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A Michiana fashion designer is making waves in her community

  • November 7, 2023

Timeless, sophisticated, minimal yet edgy is how Paris Jo describes her style as she designs custom gowns and ready to wear fashion for women.

The South Bend native says from an early age, she would channel her creativity by making her own toys and baby doll clothes. But she never thought a fashion career was an option.

“And I never thought I wanted to be a designer. I just always thought sewing and creating was just a hobby because growing up in a small town, you don’t see many designers here and I never thought of it as a career path. I just always saw it as a hobby,” Jo said.

Jo attended Purdue University to major in psychology but as soon as she learned about the apparel design and technology major, she quickly made the switch. She says it was her first exposure to creating garments, where she learned to express herself through both the technical and fashion vision.

Jo had two choices after graduation: either return home to start her own business or find a fashion company to work for. She committed to her dream and business. And off the bat, she started getting busy in Chicago and Indianapolis hosting fashion shows.

It’s been seven years since Jo had her last fashion show, but she says now she’s ready.

“It is finally my time to show what I can do. Even though I have custom clients and I put my work out there, a lot of is still in the vision of the client. I have yet to really show a collection of my baby, my dreams and my sketches,” Jo said.

A 2020 show that Jo had planned had to be put on hold due to the pandemic. However, she says the time has come to showcase

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Fashion Designer Stevie Edwards Dies At Age 58

  • August 20, 2023

Fashion designer Stevie Edwards, who’s created custom creations for celebrities like Tiffany Haddish and Diana Ross, has died. He was 58.

According to Women’s Wear Daily, Edwards’ family confirmed he had been battling colon cancer since 2021, and the disease claimed his life on Sunday. Funeral arrangements are currently underway.

Last month, Edwards announced on Instagram that he would take a six-to eight-month break from designing “depending on the healing process.”

Edwards learned tailoring at Dunbar Vocational Academy before segueing into fashion design at what was then called Ray-Vogue College of Design (now the Illinois Institute of Art). Before starting his career, Edwards worked for local Chicago designers Barbara Bates and the late Reginald Thomas.

In 2008, Edwards launched the I Luv Stevie label and worked with stylists like Law Roach.

His three-decade-long career took off as he started red-carpet styling. When a silent investor offered to pay for advertisements for the designer in Vogue, GQ, W and Harper’s Bazaar in 2020, his exposure exploded.

Edwards’ investor paid for a few ads in major publications, including a full-page spread in a Los Angeles regional issue of Vogue. Edwards told edwards-getting-national-attention-1234609084/” data-ylk=”slk:WWD;elm:context_link;itc:0″WWD in 2020 that it was the first time a local Black designer acquired full-page ad space in the magazine. The ad featured a model wearing a black floral pantsuit designed by Edwards. The words “The New ‘It’ Designer” and the 58-year-old’s name were splashed across the page.

The publication’s October 2020 issue included the ad featuring “About Damn Time” singer Lizzo on the cover. The monumental issue also marked the first time a Vogue October issue featured a plus-size Black woman.

“I’m making history in the same issue,” Edwards told WWD.

Of his career, Edwards’ sister Aretha told designer-stevie-edwards-tiffany-hadish-dies-58-obituary-1235769294/” data-ylk=”slk:WWD;elm:context_link;itc:0″WWD on Monday

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