Towering heels, epic fall: Remember when Naomi Campbell turned a catwalk catastrophe into career gold?

When the supermodel tumbled on the Vivienne Westwood runway, wearing towering bright blue shoes, little did she know that it would be written into fashion history.

What do they say about all publicity being good? When the world saw Naomi Campbell fall on the Vivienne Westwood runway, the supermodel was soon inundated with calls from other designers — asking her to do it again. It was an iconic moment in fashion history: Vivienne Westwood’s “Anglomania” show in Paris, March 1993. Campbell was 23 when she took the tumble, wearing a pair of the designer’s “Super Elevated Ghillie” platforms that measured about 21 centimeters (8.2 inches) in heel height. (The brand still sells a similar pair for $1,125.) The towering shoes, made of bright blue imitation crocodile skin and fastened with silk ribbons around the ankle, were inspired by styles from the 18th and 19th centuries. Campbell’s famous pair, now housed in London’s Victoria & Albert Museum, are clearly identifiable: Her name, “Naomi,” is scrawled on the inner sole in blue ballpoint pen. “It looks like you could’ve broken both of your ankles… that was a nasty, nasty fall,” said David Letterman when Campbell was a guest on his talk show, criticizing how no one came to the supermodel’s rescue at the time. Campbell, who played off the accident with a smile, agreed with Letterman’s observation. “No one moved, no one moved a muscle in their face,” she said. “They were just nervous until I started laughing, and then they started laughing too.” The model has since said that the fall had less to do with extortionate heel height, and more to do with the pair of white rubber stockings she was wearing. In a 2024 video recounting the incident — dubbed her “Great Fall” — for British Vogue, Campbell explained that she couldn’t feel her feet or toes in the stockings.