Naomi Campbell Cried After Being Given ‘Gray’ Face On Italian Vogue Cover

Naomi Campbell recently revealed that she cried over her “gray face” on her cover of Italian Vogue magazine in 1988, because the makeup artist told her there was no exact shade and explained that “they didn’t know she was black.”

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, the supermodel remembered feeling elated when she was chosen to be the face of the June 1988 edition, but ended up in tears after seeing the results of the photoshoot.

Unfortunately, when she arrived at the shoot, the makeup artist told her that they didn’t know she was dark-skinned and had not prepared the right shade of foundation for her.

“He had to mix some colors that he had of foundations to make up his own color, and that consisted of a lot of gray,” Campbell said. “When that cover came out, I just cried. I wanted so much to be on the cover of the publication. But I didn’t want to be gray.”

Campbell previously discussed this issue in an article on the Guardian. She admitted that after the incident, she would always remember to bring her own foundation to photoshoots.

Campbell then went on to highlight other struggles she had as a black model in the fashion industry. She said that people tried to “put her in a maid’s outfit” at the beginning of her career and complained that her hair was always styled in dreadlocks.

She was also labeled “difficult” after pointing out the discrimination she had faced on the job, but admitted that she “likes” the challenges she went through. “They didn’t squash me, they didn’t silence me,” she added.

Naomi Campbell on the cover of Vogue Italia at 18 years old circa 1988 pic.twitter.com/O6yb2fYKk7

— raging narcissist (@faciaIstructure) July 22, 2016