The supermodel appeared on the runway at Arise Fashion Week held in Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city. Campbell said there needs to be better representation of Africa, saying that, “Africa has never had the opportunity to be out there and their fabrics and their materials and their designs be accepted on the global platform.”
Campbell makes a very good point. It seems high time for a publication like Vogue to have some representation in a huge and diverse continent like Africa. Condé Nast International hadn’t yet commented on Campbell’s statement. Google-searching a variation of “Vogue Africa” turned up many articles and op-eds wondering the same thing as Campbell.
A 2014 story from The Cut shows that this isn’t the first time the supermodel has asked for African Vogue. At a Vogue Festival in London, Campbell low-key called out Jonathan Newhouse, chairman of Condé Nast International. “I’m hoping, Jonathan, that we can have African Vogue.”
Back in February, the publishing house launched its 23rd global edition with Vogue Poland and also announced that Czech Republic and Slovakia editions will be coming soon, too.
Considering Campbell’s on the masthead as contributing editor of British Vogue — and on countless Vogue covers — they might want to get on this sooner rather than later. The fashion industry isn’t known for being quick to progress, and slowly but surely, we’re seeing some signs of change. Last April, Ghanaian-born Edward Enninful became the first black editor-in-chief of British Vogue, and last week, Ghanaian-American Virgil Abloh took over Louis Vuitton’s menswear designer position.