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throwback
May 22, 2020

Naomi Campbell Has Looked Incredible for Half a Century

By Emilia Petrarca

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Naomi Campbell walking the 1994 Chanel runway. Photo: Getty Images

There are few people who truly live up to the term icon, and Naomi Campbell is one of them. On Friday, May 22, the supermodel celebrated her 50th birthday, which is hard to believe, considering that she’s just as busy as she was when she began her career in the late ’80s.

Since the beginning, Campbell has been a force in fashion. Her powerful runway strut was incomparable — even when she fell. She was the first black model to appear on the covers of both British and French Vogue. She befriended major designers like Gianni Versace, Yves Saint Laurent, and Azzedine Alaïa. And in 1990, she was declared “the reigning megamodel of them all” by Interview magazine.

Today, she’s still untouchable, whether she’s walking the Paris runways or wearing a hazmat suit on a plane. Wherever she goes, she’s always dressed for the occasion, no matter if the occasion is community service. Below, a look back at a half a century of Naomi Campbell looking incredible.

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1 / 50 Photos
1989 Patrick Kelly runway. Photo: Getty Images
1989 Thierry Mugler runway. Photo: Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
1989 with André Leon Talley. Photo: Ron Galella Collection via Getty
1989 "Night of 100 Stars" gala. Photo: Ron Galella Collection via Getty
1990 at her 20th birthday party. Photo: Ron Galella Collection via Getty
1990 Grace Jones's 42nd birthday party. Photo: Ron Galella Collection via Getty
1990 wearing Azzedine Alaïa. Photo: The LIFE Picture Collection via
1990 Met Gala. Photo: The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images
1990 Andy Warhol book party. Photo: Ron Galella Collection via Getty
1990 La Palace de Beaute nightclub opening. Photo: Ron Galella Collection via Getty
1990 Photo: The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images
1990 Photo: The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images
1990 Photo: The LIFE Picture Collection via
1990 runway. Photo: The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images
1990 Photo: Redferns/Getty Images
1990 Photo: The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images
1991 London Fashion Week with Kate Moss. Photo: Getty Images
1991 California Fashion Industry Friends event. Photo: Ron Galella Collection via Getty
1991 Azzedine Alaïa runway. Photo: Conde Nast via Getty Images
1991 at her 21st birthday party. Photo: The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images
1991 kissing Linda Evangelista. Photo: The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images
1991 "Look of the Year" event. Photo: Ron Galella Collection via Getty
1991 Dior runway. Photo: Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
1991 Gianni Versace runway. Photo: Getty Images
1992 with Carla Bruni and Gianni Versace. Photo: Getty Images
1993 Vivienne Westwood runway. Photo: Conde Nast via Getty Images
1993 Vivienne Westwood runway. Photo: Conde Nast via Getty Images
1993 Chanel runway. Photo: AFP via Getty Images
1993 Elite Models party. Photo: Getty Images
1994 Chanel runway. Photo: Getty Images
1994 Anna Sui runway. Photo: Getty Images
1995 Met Gala wearing Versace. Photo: Ron Galella Collection via Getty
1996 Ralph Lauren Runway. Photo: AFP via Getty Images
1997 in London. Photo: Getty Images
1998 wearing a Cartier emerald necklace. Photo: The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images
1999 wearing Versace with Kate Moss. Photo: Getty Images
1999 backstage at London Fashion Week. Photo: AFP via Getty Images
2002 Rosa Cha runway. Photo: Getty Images
2005 Heatherette runway. Photo: Getty Images
2005 Halloween with Marc Jacobs. Photo: WireImage
2007 with Azzedine Alaïa. Photo: Getty Images
2007 community service. Photo: Getty Images
2007 community service. Photo: FilmMagic/Getty Images
2007 community service. Photo: WireImage/Getty Images
2008 Louis Vuitton runway. Photo: WireImage
2017 Versace runway. Photo: 2017 Venturelli/Getty Images
2018 at the wedding of Princess Eugenie of York. Photo: Getty Images
2019 attending the Louis Vuitton men's show. Photo: Getty Images
2019 Met Gala. Photo: Getty Images for THR/Getty Images
2019 Valentino runway. Photo: WireImage/Getty Images
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