FASHION

Naomi Campbell Goes for an Old Favorite to Celebrate Legendary Drag Queen RuPaul

The supermodel wore Azzedine Alaïa to the Time 100 gala, where her friend RuPaul was among the honorees.


Each year, Time magazine compiles a list—the Time 100—of the most influential individuals across arts, sports, politics, tech, and media, assembling a who’s-who of personalities with glowing mini essays by friends and collaborators. This year, iconic drag queen RuPaul—he of Drag Race and “Supermodel (You Better Work)”—was featured among the hundred, profiled in brief by his close friend Naomi Campbell, whom he met in the ’90s in New York.

“It’s incredible what he’s done for the drag queens who compete on that show—bringing them out, introducing them to a mainstream audience and letting them be proud of who they are and what they want to be,” Campbell wrote. (Her lovely homage to the drag queen left us wondering: When will Campbell guest-judge Drag Race?)

On Tuesday evening, many among the Time 100 gathered in real life, Campbell included, to toast this year’s luminaries. Campbell and Ru made an immaculate couple on the red carpet, he in a cabernet-colored plaid suit and his trademark black-framed glasses and she in a black and red Azzedine Alaïa dress. Just like her friendship with Ru, Campbell and Alaïa go way back.

Naomi Campbell in Azzedine Alaïa at the Time 100 gala at Lincoln Center in New York, New York, April 2017.

Gary Gershoff/Getty Images

Who: Naomi Campbell.

When: Tuesday, April 25.

Where: The Time 100 gala at Lincoln Center in New York, New York.

What: A black and red ankle-length dress by Azzedine Alaïa with black sandals and shiny center-parted hair.

Why: Campbell has been among Alaïa’s favorite models since her ’90s heyday, and she regularly selects his looks for red carpet occasions. His dresses exude a classic elegance—always one to play by his own rules, the designer rarely pursues the latest trend and shows his collections on his own schedule—with a mod playfulness. A drop waist and strong shoulders show off Alaïa’s trademark knack for designing the most flattering silhouettes for all occasions.

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Naomi Campbell stars in Edward Enninful’s Seven Deadly Sins: