NATALIE CAMPBELL BECOMES INDEPENDENT MAYORAL CANDIDATE
This week I give my slow clap, standing ovation to Natalie Campbell. So earlier in the year mayoral candidate, CEO and Chancellor at Westminster University, Natalie Campbell, declared her intention to run in the forthcoming 2024 elections. She initially announced her candidacy under the Conservative Party though she made it clear she didn’t wholly agree with their positioning.
Despite this, I liked that Natalie was running. Prior to this, we had very few degrees of separation and I had listened to a few interviews she had done though had yet to meet her in person. Despite her political affiliation, I liked her message “I want to run London like a business” she told iNews in May and shared why she was a strong candidate.
Maybe it’s because I’m a business owner. Maybe it’s because she’s a Black woman. Either way her messaging landed and I thought (and think) London is ready for a fresh pair of eyes as Sadiq seems to be a *little* jaded of late. The PR veneer whilst still available on demand slips brazen when confronted by his peers. See this confrontation with Tory Peter Fortune where Sadiq calls him a thick.
I can’t help but think that Sadiq has far worse hurled at him during his tenure and who wouldn’t get a bit flippant when you’ve been carrying the can for a while but this is a school boy error hence his apology not for calling Fortune thick but the forum in which he did it in. Woi for his PR team that week.
Anyway, like the other Black candidates Natalie (not wholly unexpectedly) didn’t make it through rounds to be considered a candidate. Possibly implying she wasn’t malleable enough to be used. Fast forward to this month of our Black HERtory, the year in honour of our sisters and Natalie announces she’s continuing her attempt for London’s top job as an independent candidate.
If you know even the slightest thing about the process you’ll realise that this is the most badass pivot which demonstrates (to me) that Natalie is absolutely a candidate to back.
Running for London mayor is expensive and having investigated this process for a client in the past, I know you need at least £10k to enter the race. That’s before you’ve built the real budget to operate and execute a campaign. It’s an initial cleansing threshold – though you could argue it keeps out impactful individuals who may not have the funds to run but would do a great job which is a shame in itself.
Attaching yourself to a political party is a move in efficiency as if you’re selected you have brand recognition, an in-built PR mechanism, people inside the party you can leverage to advocate for you (ideally), access to databases etc. The benefits are endless and allows you to focus on winning “hearts and minds” of Londonders.
Admittedly, being an independent candidate is far tougher especially if you don’t have a profile that penetrates across multiple sectors and socio-economic backgrounds. Basically people need to see and like you – your policies are secondary if not tertiary. You’d kinda have to do a Ronald Regan – go from celeb to political candidate. To go independent in four months indicates that Natalie had either already planned to compete in 2024 no matter what so had a backup plan or has people so invested they decided to fund her post her initial departure from the race. Either way it’s remarkable. Ironically just days before her announcement I was speaking to someone about how I would have loved her to win and then *boom* she’s back in the game.
No matter the outcome you can’t not respect her tenacity and the apparent lack of hesitation to continue on the journey. No pressure but I am expecting big things from Natalie and will find ways I can support her campaign. London needs someone who sees a door closed and says it’s alright I’ll swap my heels for some reinforced Timberlands and boot the door down. I think that’s Natalie Campbell and that is exciting.
OZWALD BOATENG LAUNCHES FIRST FURNITURE COLLECTION
I’ve said this once. I’ve said it a million times. Ozwald Boateng OBE is one of my business icons. Distinctive. Sophisticated. High end. Classic. Regal. Unapologetically African. A double sided coin who can give you English statesman if you need it – the man has been based in the finest tailoring street in the world, Savile Row for just shy of three decades. A man who will never give you Uncle vibes, he is world class.
I can’t remember the first time he flashed on my radar but I bought A Man’s Story on DVD the year it was released and instantly fell for his creativity, his love for African print and bold colours and I love anybody that does something distinctly well. He has dressed hundreds of celebrities and you know when a man is wearing Boateng as it is such a particular look that I must admit makes me gasp every time. If you read the Media and Culture edition of Unboxed you will remember it was the highlight for me of the fashion exhibition The Missing Thread – currently on at Somerset House – to see him included.
To me though he still takes part in Fashion Week, he’s been a little quieter and only does flagship projects such as redesigning the wardrobe for the British Airways’ cabin crew. This week he announced his first furniture collection with Poltrona Frau called Culture and Craft.
Glimpses of the collection are as you’d expect stunning and I wish I could buy a new home just to decorate it with the pieces. It’s a reminder that no matter how good you are at something there is always room for strategic diversification to keep things interesting. I think there are very few Black British male designers bar follow tailor Charlie Allen who has reached the level of recognition that Ozwald has but admittedly, I am not a fashion connoisseur. We hold out hope for fellow African designers like Sierra Leone’s Foday Dumbuya of Labarum who is currently stirring up the dust in fashion and is the 2023 recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design to spearhead us into global recognition. (I guess despite our independence in 1961 we’re still part of the Commonwealth and therefore can be selectively classified as British).
Anyway whilst I’m still waiting for the day I can afford my own Boateng (or possibly a neck scarf at the very least) I’m excited to see the full scope of this collection. Beautifully, Ozwald has also created one of his signature video montages to explain the vision behind the collection.
NAOMI CAMPBELL EXHIBITION TO LAUNCH AT THE V&A
In keeping with our theme of legendary status and pivotal moves, the Victoria and Albert Museum have announced that they will be creating an exhibition dedicated to the supermodel Naomi Campbell.
The living icon will have her life’s work charted through design and photography. Of all the supermodels, none have been through the mill as Naomi. Whilst the exhibition will focus on her career – I do hope it’ll address why Naomi is an unmatched unicorn in her arena. In the Apple TV+ documentary, The Super Models, Naomi discusses some of the microaggressions – like other models having to stop cabs as they wouldn’t stop for her – and the blatant racism she experienced over the course of her career. When you consider that Naomi is 40 years in the game it makes sense that sustained success should be celebrated in this first of its kind exhibition.
ON THAT NOTE…
In celebration of HERstory I wanted to highlight Earthshot 2022 Winner Charlot Magayi who created Mukuru Clean Stoves after her daughter was involved in a cooking accident. Charlot created a safer and more environmentally friendly offering that is revolutionising lives in Kenya and will spread across the continent and beyond.
This is a true demonstration of addressing a need without waiting on someone else to fix things for you. The unspoken mantra of the Black woman. Here is Charlot addressing Lady Mama Rachel Ruto EGH and UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly MP at a celebration of her Earthshot win. It’s women like Charlot that make you want to do more in the world.
