The British model created a collection for the American label PrettyLittleThing, and showed it before the start of New York Fashion Week, even modelling one of the dresses. Were the designs any good?

Naomi Campbell modelling her own design for PrettyLittleThing. Screen shot: PrettyLittleThing/YouTube

It really was a matter of time. If Rihanna could be a designer, why not Naomi Campbell? If fellow Brit model Kate Moss could lend her name to a fast fashion brand, why not her good friend Ms Campbell? To prove that she can design, and not just good at strutting down a runway, Ms Campbell went into a collaboration with the American fast fashion label PrettyLittleThing (PLT). But this is no run-of-the-mill pairing; none of the this-name-X-than-name lameness. This is grander, fiercer: PrettyLittleThing Designed by Naomi Campbell (in full caps), in case you had any doubt that she had a hand in the designs. The two names, in pink, appear prominently on the rear wall of the runway. In case you missed that, an announcement was made in the middle of the presentation: “This is PrettyLittleThing designed by Naomi Campbell”.

And, if that was really not enough to shake you out of a state of disbelief, the South London-born model appeared on the runway, wearing the last look of the show. The name up there and the person on the catwalk matched. No kidding. Although the collaboration was announced in July, few took it seriously. Some even called it “shocking”. PLT is not quite H&M. While it is easy to say that fast fashion brands operate in the same pond, PLT is especially noteworthy for the accusations levelled against their corporate practices, including unethical methods, low sustainability rating, as well as allegations of exploiting workers. Ms Campbell, on the other hand, is known for her charitable work and her support of emerging designers, especially those from the Black community (some pieces in her debut were the input of newcomers Victor Anate and Edvin Thompson). The brand and the model coming together is like the villainess Cheetah cooperating with Wonder Woman.

Her contract must have required her to model the clothes she designs too. Photos: PrettyLittleThing

The finale of the runway presentation of PrettyLittleThing in New York. Screen shot: PrettyLittleThing/YouTube

And the clothes? Clingy. To be sure, we did not set ourselves up to be disappointed. It was a collection that revealed Naomi Campbell to not only have modelled the clothes of some of the top names in the business—Alaïa, Balmain, Galliano, Saint Laurent, Versace, but also absorbed the distinctive styles of those names. It also showed she may have spent too much time with LaQuan Smith. Or, in New York. There was generous show of skin, and the obligatory slashes, cut-outs, and gaping armholes to facilitate the display. These outfits during Ms Campbell’s heydays would be considered hooker fashion, but today they are described as “party clothes”. And they are de rigueur if you are to be taken seriously as a fashion follower, especially if you have to appear on the red carpet, on stage, or twirl the night away on the dancefloor, noticeably in your fashion. Ms Campbell has a ready market.

Her debut, to her dismay, was met with strong criticism, not because her designs were dismal, but because she chose to work with a brand with less than a sterling reputation. Ms Campbell took a defensive stand. She claimed that White models working with fashion brands were not so severely censured. She told W magazine, “Do they say anything when other caucasian models have worked with fast-fashion brands and done collaborations? They’ve said not a word. They’ve praised them. So why are they coming for me?” Perhaps the difference this time is that Naomi Campbell has positioned herself as a designer. She is not only associated with PLT by name. There is nothing wrong with that, but if she wishes for a collection to be credited as “designed by” her, she should be able to put herself on the same playing field as other designers and accept that merits would not be given when they’re not due. And, certainly also the baggage that comes with associating oneself with a brand name so opposite of yours. She can’t only want to be adored by her front-row pals. In fashion especially, you can’t have your Victoria sponge cake and devour it too.