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Naomi Campbell on Succeeding in Fashion: ‘I’m Determined, Passionate and Driven’

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Naomi Campbell sat down with Interview magazine to talk about her fashion career. See excerpts from the interview below:

You opened the Versace couture show this past June—26 years after you started working with the house. Did it feel the same backstage as it did all those years ago?

For me, absolutely. I didn’t do it for 14 years, and I had to keep my appearance a secret for many months. When I walked in to do my fitting, it just felt like being around the family again, like no love had been lost. Donatella and Allegra—it was her birthday—and all the people that I’ve known for many years. It was very emotional. I had been wishing I could do Versace one more time.

Does the fashion world still feel like a family to you?

Yes. I love the relationship that I have with Azzedine, with Donatella, with Stefano [Gabbana] and Domenico [Dolce], with Marc Jacobs, with Anna Sui. When I started out modeling, there weren’t casting directors and there weren’t stylists, so you just dealt directly with the designer. We were all much closer back then—we had direct communication with each other, and we all hung out when we weren’t working. Obviously, now that’s changed, but I believe I’ve kept it that way.

You advise young models on your reality show “The Face.” Does it feel like you are talking to young women in an entirely different business than the one you started out in?

Yes, I do feel that I’m talking to someone who’s in a totally different place from where I was when I started modeling. I was fortunate enough to have the wonderful designers and amazing photographers around me, and editors that I knew, and if I wanted to ask a question, I asked them. So that gap has broadened a bit.

You always seemed so confident, even early on. Is that an innate quality or something you had to assume to do the job?

They always say, ‘Fake it till you make it.’ [laughs] No, I’m determined, and I’m passionate and driven about whatever I commit myself to do. If I don’t know something, I’m going to ask, and I’ve got no problems in asking questions. I never have. People ask me, “Are you nervous when you go on the runway? You don’t look it.” Yes, I am.

Read more at interviewmagazine.com.

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