The "supermodel" title has been the subject of a renewed debate this week over which of today's young crop of Snapchat-obsessed catwalkers qualify as bonafide phenomenons worthy of the moniker stamped on the careers of such fashion industry legends like Kate Moss, Cindy Crawford and Gisele Bundchen.
And, of course, no supermodel roster would be complete without Naomi Campbell at the top. Very few would argue about that.
The London-born talent really stands tall in a category all her own as the 45-year-old has been working consistently and pretty much constantly (feverishly, maybe?) since her debut 30 years ago when she was discovered at 15. Campbell's three decades in the business have been condensed, compiled and packaged into an impressive new two-volume collector's edition book by Taschen, which hosted a cocktail party inside its Beverly Drive bookstore Thursday night in Beverly Hills.
Those results were also notable. Campbell always draws a crowd (like she did at London book party on April 18 as part of the book's promo blitz) and her L.A. contingent included Kim Kardashian (with producer pal Carla DiBello), Gigi Hadid, Quincy Jones, Lenny Kravitz, Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, The Weeknd, Kelly Rowlands, Ashlee Simpson and husband Evan Ross, Mike and Irena Medavoy, Dave Chappelle, CAA's Kevin Huvane, Joe Pesci, RuPaul, Taschen's Benedikt and Lauren Taschen and directors Lee Daniels, John Singleton, Marc Forster and Brett Ratner.
Guests flipped through the pages and even the celebrity ones couldn't resist selfie requests with Campbell, seen pin-balling around the store signing books, hugging friends and granting those asks with a smile while wearing vintage Galliano. She posed for photographers with her arm around Hadid's waist in a moment that positioned the legend with one of the industry's rising stars. Hadid is also one who found her name thrust into the aforementioned debate about who qualifies as a real supermodel.
The source of the chatter is easily be traced back to Rebecca Romijn, who told Entertainment Tonight that she knows "legitimate fashion people" who hate the fact that social media stars such as Kendall Jenner and Hadid are designated as such because "they are not true supermodels."
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Pret-a-Reporter also shared a moment with Hadid during Campbell's party and though Romijn's comments didn't come up — this night was all about Naomi, remember — the 5' 10'' model did open up about why she showed up to the party. "I've always loved Naomi," Hadid says. "The reason I wanted to be a model is because I loved iconic images and, obviously, Naomi is in 50 percent of those iconic images that I grew up looking at."
Most of those are featured in the book, iconic photographs taken by star shutterbugs like Richard Avedon, Patrick Demarchelier, Steven Meisel, Helmut Newton, Herb Ritts, Mario Testino, Ellen von Unwerth and even Bruce Weber. Titled NAOMI, there's also autobiographical text and removable art. Celebrated British pop artist Allen Jones created a 3-D bust of Campbell that comes on the outside and even can hang on the wall as a signal of money well -pent. (The signed, limited edition Taschen creations will set Campbell fans back $2500 as of May 1.)
Campbell and Hadid posed with the bust sculpture, and Hadid also gushed about the former's influence on her career. "Naomi is a great mentor of my sister and mine and a huge support to us," she offers, adding that her favorite image of Campbell is this one. "I'm so excited to have the book."
She then rushed off to buy her own copy and head towards the exit. Campbell and Hadid wouldn't stay separated for long, though. After her book party, Campbell, hot in Hollywood now after her regular role on Empire, stopped by The Nice Guy in West Hollywood for Hadid's birthday party. She turned 21 on April 23, and brought the festivities back (from many locations) to party with friends including Taylor Swift, Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian, Kendall and Kylie Jenner, Jaden Smith, Kravitz and, yes, Zayn Malik, too.
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