Design & Style
Meet Your Instructor
Lesson time 05:44 min
Supermodel and icon Naomi Campbell shares highlights from her career and the famous Black models who helped pave the way.
Students give MasterClass an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars
Topics include: Meet Your Instructor
Teaches Modeling Fundamentals
Supermodel and cultural icon Naomi Campbell teaches you how to take on modeling—and life—with confidence.
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[MUSIC PLAYING] (SINGING) You don't even try to. Nobody can match you. NAOMI CAMPBELL: Most people view fashion as untouchable, a glamorous fantasy. But really, modeling at its best is a source of inspiration. It shows you who you could be in your best form. Maybe you're not at a fashion show in Paris, but you can still wear that skirt at a board meeting. And maybe you're not on a location shoot, but that makeup could still look great on your next date. (SINGING) Yeah, yeah, yeah. NAOMI CAMPBELL: This class isn't just about fashion and modeling. It's also about personal empowerment and authenticity, culture and community, and the power of giving back. It's about the capacity we have to command a space, the influence to redefine society's standards of beauty, the impact our voices make when we advocate for others, and the doors we can open for those who come after us. [MUSIC PLAYING] I was born in 1970, at the beginning of a decade filled with amazing music, fashion, culture, social change. And it wasn't until this time that Black models really started making a name for themselves, in both the American and the European fashion industry. Bethann Hardison, Pat Cleveland, Naomi Sims, Beverly Johnson, Billie Blair, Donyale Luna, and Iman. The new generation of supermodels were featured by designers like Halston, Stephen Burrows, Giorgio di Sant' Angelo, and Willi Smith. They pushed their way into the major publications and renowned runways, showing the beauty and influence of diversity. Needless to say, they paved the way for models like me. I think in most cases, it's either you wanted to be a model, growing up, or just, someone discovers you. And I'm the latter. My ambition was to pursue dance, professionally. So I went to theater school. I started learning ballet, jazz, tap, and I loved it. I loved movement. And so I studied that, and that's what I wanted to do. Did not think about modeling. I was discovered. Yes. There's an area in London called Covent Garden. So I was taking the long way home and hanging out there with my school friends. And a fellow-- she was an American model, but opened her own agency, called Beth Boldt. She approached me and gave me her card. And I didn't call her for about a month or two. And then, I called and went to see her in my school uniform. She took pictures of me herself, and then she sent me out with her pictures. I would go to, like, go-sees at magazines after school. I thought it was fun. I used to do my castings without my mother knowing, so when I got the job for one of the magazines, then I had to tell her. My first location shoot was British "Elle" publication, 1986, a month before my 16th birthday. In that same year, I appeared on my first cover of "i-D" Magazine. And then, I graced the cover of "Tatler" a few months later after that. I was the first Black model on the cover of "Time" magazine. But that was just the be...
About the Instructor
Naomi Campbell stumbled into a modeling career, earning icon status both on and off the runway. On MasterClass, she shares the lessons she learned as a model to help you find your confidence and stride in everyday life.
Featured MasterClass Instructor
Naomi Campbell
Supermodel and cultural icon Naomi Campbell teaches you how to take on modeling—and life—with confidence.
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