Vogue magazine has nearly a dozen editions in countries across the world, like China, India, and Mexico. But for supermodel Naomi Campbell, the historic and respected fashion magazine is missing a major untapped market: Africa.
In an interview with Reuters, the 47-year-old model called out Vogue for snubbing Africa’s fashion industry by not creating a Vogue Africa. Campbell referenced Vogue‘s recent launch of Vogue Arabia, a Middle-East-catered edition that highlights fashion in countries like Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, as hope that one day the magazine might acknowledge designers and readers in Africa as well.
“There should be a Vogue Africa,” Campbell said. “We just had Vogue Arabia—it is the next progression. It has to be.”
Campbell continued by touting Africa’s coverage-worthy fabrics and designs as evidence that an internationally known African fashion magazine is needed. “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 said. “It shouldn’t be that way.”
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From when she accused British Vogue‘s former editor-in-chief, Alexandra Shulman, of racial bias to when she has opened up about her own experience with racism in the modeling industry, Campbell has been outspoken about the need for diversity in fashion for years.
“People have come to realize it is not about the color of your skin to define if you can do the job or not,” she said.
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Though Conde Nast International, the company that publishes Vogue, hasn’t responded to Campbell’s criticism, we hope that it heard her loud and clear. It’s past time for more diversity.