Five years ago, a lavish fundraising gala hosted by model Naomi Campbell at the British Museum was widely regarded as a triumph. It was the toast of London fashion week and a powerful showcase of Campbell’s philanthropic mission to raise money for youth in poverty.
The venue, flocked by celebrities (Naomie Harris, Pierce Brosnan, rapper Skepta and Alexa Chung) and wealthy paying guests, would combine a catwalk show with a charity art auction (drawings by Matisse, Dalí and Tracey Emin, a signed Warhol print). jewelery and luxury watches.
The event was watched with excitement. Grazia magazine said: “The best show of London fashion week and it’s all for a good cause.” “Saving the world has never looked this chic,” said Cosmopolitan. “It’s not just about looking good, it’s about being good and doing good,” Campbell told reporters.
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But not everything was so rosy behind the scenes. Even as Campbell took a bow on the British Museum’s catwalk, her charity Fashion For Relief was being hounded by unhappy charity partners; They were angry at being left out of pocket and were threatening to take legal action to get back the money they believed they were owed.
This week a devastating Charity Commission report revealed the extent of chaotic management and financial abuse at Fashion For Relief. Campbell was banned from becoming a trustee of the charity or taking a role in a senior charity for five years. Two other trustees, Bianka Hellmich and Veronica Chou, were banned for nine and four years.
The charity was wound up in December last year by interim administrators appointed by the commission to run Fashion For Relief in 2022 following concerns about its conduct. The interim administrators then paid the £250,000 Fashion for Relief owed to two former partners, Save the Children and the Mayor’s Fund for London.
A former charity partner of Fashion For Relief said working with it was a harrowing experience. “It was difficult from start to finish,” a senior charity executive told the Guardian. If we had known then what we know now, we would never have partnered with them.”
Another said they were surprised at how little of the proceeds from Fashion For Relief events went to charities, and how difficult it was to get back the money they felt they were owed: “I felt like there was a huge discrepancy between what they were telling the public what they were doing and what was going on with the donations.” .”
The Charity Commission report found Fashion For Relief raised around £4.8 million in the five years to 2020, but only a small proportion (10%) of the £4.6 million it spent on charity went as grants to partner charities putting it. Much of his income appears to be spent on spectacular gala fundraisers, including hefty spending bills.
At the 2018 Fashion For Relief event supporting Save the Children in Cannes, Campbell stayed for three nights in a €3,000-a-night hotel. A further €4,000 (£3,332) went to the personal security team. Campbell racked up an expense bill of €8,000, including spa treatments, room service and even cigarette costs. All blamed on Fashion For Relief.
A year later, days before the 2019 London fashion week show, Save the Children threatened to take Fashion For Relief to court, claiming it owed large sums of money from fashion galas held in Cannes in 2017 and 2018. To take back donations made on your behalf.
The commission report contains startling details about the administrative chaos currently taking place at Fashion For Relief. There was no tracking of receipts or invoices and charity rules on conflicts of interest were ignored. Anonymous donors were relied upon to cover expenses. It had no full-time staff and had a bank account that was never used.
Sources close to Fashion For Relief said the board of trustees was surprised when the commission began asking questions about its conduct in 2020. They acted in good faith and blamed outside advisors on whom they relied for legal and financial advice. They suggested the report was part of a “vendetta” against Campbell.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Campbell said he was “extremely concerned” by the commission’s report. “I wasn’t in control of my philanthropy. I have put control in the hands of a civil attorney and so we are investigating to find out what happened and how. Everything I make and grow goes to charity.”
Campbell’s philanthropic ventures helped her land ambassador roles at Unicef and the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust, generating huge amounts of positive publicity (“Naomi Campbell is saving the world one fashion show at a time,” read an Elle headline). But his credibility as a philanthropist now looks uncertain, at least in the UK.