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Naomi Campbell stars in Off-White’s tribute to Princess Diana’s style
Earlier this year, Prince William revealed that his mother, Princess Diana, had once arranged for supermodels Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell to surprise him when he got home from a day at school. Last night at Paris Fashion Week, and more than two decades on, Campbell was back with another Diana-related surprise as she closed Off White’s modern tribute to the Princess.
Off White is designed by Virgil Abloh, a designer who rose to acclaim as a collaborator of Kanye West and who is known for creating cult, luxury streetwear for the social media generation. So, you may ask, why would he choose to celebrate the Princess in his latest collection?
The 20th anniversary of Diana’s death has thrown the millenial generation’s obsession with her as a style icon into sharp focus; Abloh’s fans are just as likely to lust after one of his cool-infused, logo-stamped sweatshirts as they are to post a semi-ironic retro image of the Princess in a frou-frou ballgown on Instagram. For them, she epitomises a nostalgic version of celebrity and a less controlled way of dressing which is barely existent in today’s meticulously strategised environment.
Cleverly, the show- entitled ‘Natural Woman’- was not a straightforward re-hash of Diana’s most iconic looks nor an imagining of what she would wear today. Instead, Abloh took some of her most recognisable visual signatures- sharp blazers, cycling shorts and mismatched gloves- and blended them together into new, sleeker silhouettes.
It was a styling approach of which Diana herself, who always sought to experiment with her style and add unexpected touches, would surely have approved. One of the most playful moments was when pastel-hued skirts suits were worn with sports socks and trainers while the models carried matching heels, combining Diana’s Versace and Chanel ‘public engagement’ wardrobe with her off-duty gym look. Clutch bags in the shape of 'People' and 'Life' magazines' logos were a tongue in cheek reference to her complicated relationship with the media.
Cindy Crawford’s daughter Kaia Gerber, another meta link to William’s supermodel memory, wore high-waisted, stonewashed jeans with padded white boots and a cropped beige jacket; there were allusions to Diana in every item, but these were fragments which weren’t necessarily meant to be pieced together.
Elsewhere, off-shoulder crop tops were reminders of Diana’s infamous 1994 ‘revenge’ dress, a pie-crust collar neckpiece was pure ‘Sloane Ranger-deconstructed’ and a fuchsia dotted jumpsuit nodded to the day dresses made for her by Catherine Walker and Jasper Conran. All the shoes, meanwhile, were part of a collaboration with Jimmy Choo, who also used to create accessories for the Princess.
It was a curly haired Campbell and her white finale look- a blazer with waterfall peplum detail and tight sports shorts- which epitomised Abloh’s vision of Diana as a heady combination of sass and grace in spirit as well as style. You didn’t need to know much about the Princess to love this show. But if you did, it will have made all the sweeter.