Naomi Campbell Enjoys 'Legend Status', Flashed By Max Vadukul For Town & Country US March 2017

Supermodel Naomi Campbell is styled by Nicoletta Santora in 'Legend Status', lensed by Max Vadukul for Town & Country March 2017./ Hair by Brian Garnes; makeup by Renne Garnes

Danielle Stein Chizzik profiles the supermodel, lensed at New York's Carylyle Hotel. 

"She does still have a bit of the shyness she had when she first started out," says modeling legend Bethann Hardison, who calls herself "Naomi's mother on this side of the pond" on account of years spent acting as Campbell's confidante and mentor. ("And she's the daughter you sometimes want to throw against the wall," Hardison adds with a laugh.)

"But she's first and foremost a survivor. You'd think she'd tire of this business, but she keeps on delivering, keeps on pulsating. From the beginning, even when she was very shy, she understood her value and tried to make sure she was being cut the same slice of bread as anyone else. And like all the girls of color in this industry, she had to do twice the amount to really make it. I've always called her a Buffalo Soldier—she was fighting on arrival, fighting for survival."

Indeed, while most of the models who ruled the fashion world in the late '80s and '90s are still enjoying some degree of success via cosmetics lines or lingerie lines or yogawear lines, none of them has endured in the bona fide fashion industry quite the way Campbell has. Her days are still regularly spent in Pat McGrath's makeup chair, getting ready for shoots and runways and awards shows; her nights are studded with parties or dinners with famous designers and fellow models—although the latter group, which formerly consisted of Christy and Helena and Cindy and Claudia and Elle, now includes the likes of new pals Maria Borges and Bella Hadid.