On the sidelines of Fashion Week, the British model was decorated by the Minister of Culture on September 26, in front of an audience of friends, journalists and guests.
Absent for three days, it is as if the sun had waited for precisely this moment to resurface. Thursday September 26, the light streamed on the gilding of a reception room of the Ministry of Culture, in Paris, where a hushed crowd, sometimes passing between two parades, rushed to attend an unprecedented event: the presentation of the insignia of Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters to Naomi Campbell. White sneakers for the journalists, sculpted heels for the guests, light scent of wax and white flowers, evening dresses in broad daylight for the model’s many friends: while Farida Khelfa gave a hug to Sidney Toledano, president of the LVMH Fashion group , Karine Sylla was joined by her husband Vincent Perez, while Cathy Guetta and Bertrand Louboutin chatted in a corner.
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Magic
Has the woman whose delays are legendary lived up to her reputation? Yes, but only for 20 minutes, and but for a good cause, as Rachida Dati explains as soon as the two women enter the living room: at the ministry, “everyone wanted to have their photo, their moment of magic”. Starting with the minister who seems the first to be charmed. After retracing the journey of the model, attentive and hieratic in a long, tight-fitting striped dress, Rachida Dati cannot refrain from a more personal confidence, relating to the summer turmoil: “I would not have accepted any other ministry than that of the culture. Already, because I wanted to stay there. And because I knew that in September, I had an appointment with you.”
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If we therefore owe to Naomi Campbell one of the (rare) elements of stability of the government, we above all admire, as the minister recalls, an extraordinary destiny, during which France, through its links with Alaïa or Yves Saint Laurent, has always been present. Naomi Campbell, a “queen”, a woman of “character”, opened doors, shook up customs, broke glass ceilings. Was one of the first black women to walk for the biggest shows, to appear on the covers of magazines. But, as Rachida Dati points out, it has long been kept away from advertising, fashion or perfume campaigns: “And that has a name: racism,” asserts the minister.
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Fights
Praising the struggles of a “pioneer”, a “resistance fighter”, and the commitment of the 54-year-old British woman against apartheid, for equality and diversity, Rachida Dati goes further: “Your journey is a political program in itself.” Suddenly, the minister declares going out of the box: “I was censored a little, otherwise my speech would have been more political. Maybe more violent. I believe in radical political combat. You were a radical woman. You have advanced causes that have not been definitively achieved. And it is not Farida Khelfa, who is here, who will deny me, nor Cathy Guetta. Before talking about a dream: “One day, I would like to create a “Naomi Campbell” school class, so that your name is inscribed in stone alongside our republican motto: liberty, equality, fraternity.”
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An example for the minister? In any case, the tribute is complete: “In these troubled times, it reconciles with human nature to look at you.” Before delicately pinning the knighthood of the Order of Arts and Letters to Naomi Campbell’s dress. Under the applause of the public and the flashes of the photographers, who will take care to ensure that the model’s long hair does not hide the medal.
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Flashes and handkerchiefs
For the Briton, it’s almost too much: moved, Naomi Campbell delicately wipes a few tears from under her eyes, before urgently asking for a tissue. Tears that the sun, always it, sparkles better than ever under the gold of the Republic. Tears also flowed when, after thanking the State and the minister in French, the model mentioned Katoucha, Iman, the other models who showed her the way: “They taught me how to parade, how to take off a cape , to ensure that my hat does not hit candlesticks like the ones in this room.” Commitment is also evident in her speech: “I am a proud black woman, but I always knew that to succeed, I did not have to give 100%, but 110%. » Cheers, applause. Rachida Dati encourages those who wish to go on stage to take a photo with the model. We obviously didn’t dare. No one could have enlightened us so well.
