FASHION FAUX PAS

Naomi Campbell Falsely Posed as a UNICEF Ambassador, UN Says

Campbell has already been banned from being a U.K. charity trustee after regulators found that her non-profit was blowing money on cigarettes, hotels, spas, and private security.

Supermodel Naomi Campbell has already been banned from being a U.K. charity trustee for five years after regulators found that her now-defunct Fashion for Relief non-profit was blowing money intended for environmental and humanitarian causes on cigarettes, hotels, spas, and private security. Now, the United Nations agency that oversees humanitarian assistance to children, UNICEF, is asking why Fashion for Relief claimed to be its fundraising partner and why Campbell was named as its “envoy.” The Guardian reported that UNICEF made a serious incident report about Fashion for Relief to the U.K. Charity Commission in 2022, noting it received no proceeds from a fashion show and charity auction that Campbell’s charity held at the British Museum and said it was working with the UN agency. UNICEF also asked why Campbell was listed as its “envoy” when she met with former U.K. prime minister Boris Johnson, who was then foreign secretary, in 2018. U.K. said it’s never been a Fashion for Relief partner and Campbell never held an official role there.