Naomi Campbell on racism on the catwalk Naomi Campbell, the world's most famous black model, has claimed that racism is far from dead in the fashion industry and has in fact worsened since she first began modelling in the Eighties. Naomi Campbell has called the fashion world out on its growing racism, saying it has worsened since she began her career in the mid-Eighties when "there was a great balance of models and colour." She also revealed that of all the models used in shows during New York Fashion Week in February this year, only six per cent were black and nine per cent were Asian. The figures were worked out as part of Balance Diversity, the campaign started by Campbell and fellow models of colour Iman and Bethann Hardinson under the banner organisation The Diversity Coalition. Speaking in an interview with Channel 4 News, aired last night to promote the campaign, Campbell pointed out that when she started out she regularly walked for brands like Yves Saint Laurent and Versace - two brands that failed to use any models of colour at February's round of autumn/winter 2013 ready-to-wear shows. READ: Naomi Campbell's modelling show 'The Face' set to hit the UK Before New York Fashion Week kicked off the month-long stretch of spring/summer 2014 shows last week, The Coalition sent a letter to the governing bodies of the event in New York, London, Paris and Milan. Each of the four letters listed the designers guilty of the "racist act" of consistently using only one or no models of colour. Victoria Beckham, Céline, Balenciaga and Chanel were just a few of the biggest names from the lengthy lists. But Campbell was quick to clarify that The Coalition is not branding the listed labels as racist. I'm saying the act of not choosing models of colour is racist. We are not calling them racist, we are saying the act is racist," she said. Fellow coalition member Hardison, a former model, has also spoken of the issue, singling out London-based Parisian brand Céline. Speaking in the Evening Standard , she said: "Phoebe Philo [creative director at Céline] - she's a cool girl. But Céline has never had a coloured person showing in their collection. And yet they have the best accessories; every black woman who has money buys her accessories.