British supermodel Naomi Campbell lashed out Friday at what she sees as latent racism in the fashion industry, which she said gives preference to blond, blue-eyed models over black women.

You know, the American president may be black, but as a black woman, I am still an exception in this business. I always have to work harder to be treated equally, she said in a Glamour interview appearing Monday in Germany.

She added: In the past, there were more opportunities for black models but the trend towards blond women has again become extreme. In magazines, on the catwalk, I see blond, blue-eyed models everywhere.

In 2007, the London-born Campbell, along with fellow models Liya Kebede and Tyson Beckford, launched a campaign against what they said was discrimination in the fashion world. -AFP