Naomi Campbell Becomes Tolu Coker’s Muse at London Fashion Week
When a visionary designer and a global supermodel cross creative paths, the fashion world pays attention. Nigerian-born designer Tolu Coker has recruited Naomi Campbell as muse and collaborator for her Spring 2026 show, both on the catwalk and in a supporting fashion film during London Fashion Week.
The Unfinished Business collection is more than a seasonal exhibition: it is an exploration of legacy, memory, and the tales that survive us.
Tolu Coker’s Star Rises in London Fashion
Coker's star has been built by her blend of heritage, storytelling, and visual style. Her show at last season's London Fashion Week was one of the season's most unforgettable.
With her bold sense of top-to-bottom flair, skyscraper hats, impeccable hair-styling, clean-cut tailoring, and even spike-heeled Ugg boots, she assembled a tribute that celebrated the women roadside vendors of Accra and West Africa.
Creating a life-size market stall at the end of the runway, Coker paid homage to the determination and ingenuity of these women, weaving their narrative through cut leather jackets, pleated dresses, and corseted shirt-dresses.
Her own perspective as a British-Nigerian North Kensington designer draws inspiration from her mother’s stories of Lagos street-hawking and from her parents taking their clothes back to family members. Drawing inspiration from the late '60s and '70s silhouettes fused with West African tailoring,
Coker took inspiration from Sokoto trousers, lightweight kaftans, and sustainability through restyling aged collections. "Sustainability isn't one-dimensional," she explained. "I love gazing at pieces of clothing in the 'waste' category and breathing new life into them."
That 2025 show placed her among the most exciting voices of Black British fashion designers, alongside peers such as Martine Rose, Grace Wales Bonner, Saul Nash, Bianca Saunders, and Nicholas Daley. Coker's work stands out for its clear storytelling and celebratory articulation of identity, tracing across continents, histories, and communities.
Unfinished Business: Past to Present
If last season celebrated resilience and recycling culture, her Spring 2026 Unfinished Business collection continues that ethos deeper into legacy and memory. Coker sees clothes as heirlooms, things that hold histories of the person and the culture. This season, she asks: What happens to dreams left unfinished? How are subsequent generations continued from them?
The line will feature archival-inspired construction, texture layering, and design pieces that signify lives and narratives ongoing.
Right at the centre of this new exhibition is Naomi Campbell. While the world knows her as a powerful supermodel, Coker intends to strip away the armour and bring Naomi to the fore in a less armoured, more real context.
"Everyone looks and knows Naomi as this completely powerful, fabulous supermodel, but other than that, she's a mother to so many, and now she's in this position of transition where she's a mother to her own kids too," Coker said. "I just really wanted to depict Naomi, the human being."
Campbell embodies the virtue of legacy and continuity as a woman who has made fashion history for decades, now stepping into motherhood and mentorship. She adds to the collection an ulterior level: an intergenerational dialogue between fashion past, present, and future.
London Fashion Week Showcase
Its SS2026 presentation will be at London Fashion Week, where it will have Naomi Campbell as muse and reference point for the collection. Rather than showing simply clothes, Coker will stage a discussion of identity, memory, and legacy.
Coker is also debuting a fashion film that mirrors these themes on screen. The film will aim to bring the story off the catwalk, using cinematic narrative to amplify the emotional impact. Although not much has been exposed, its presence is an indicator of a growing trend in which designers are seeking to extend their reach through multi-platform formats.
“I was thinking about the connection we have to our clothing, particularly as a woman designing for women, and the way our wardrobes evolve as we evolve as people,” she said. “Like the two-way zip, or the idea of corsetry that’s comfortable without the boning, these are pieces that honor the way the body evolves and changes.”