Naomi Campbell needed a faster way through Paris during Fashion Week, but switching to a public bicycle still came with one requirement, the bike had to be cleaned first.
The 56-year-old supermodel said demonstrations had complicated her route through the city, leading her to trade road traffic for a Lime bike. Before setting off, Campbell pulled on blue gloves, sprayed the shared bicycle and wiped down the surfaces she planned to touch.
“I’m stuck in Paris, I’m stuck, I’m trapped between demonstrations, so I have no choice but to take the bike,” Campbell said in footage from the outing, according to the Daily Mail. She immediately added, “But it’s impossible for me to take the bike without my gloves.”
The cleaning turned out to be the easy part. Campbell said she had barely ridden a bicycle in years outside stationary bikes, then started navigating Paris in black-and-gold Chanel pumps before calling back to her team with a more practical question: “Where are my sneakers?”
Campbell Cleaned the Bike Before Touching the Handlebars
O Dr. Bactéria orgulhoso! Naomi Campbell compartilhou um momento inusitado em Paris, neste sábado (3). A modelo fez questão de limpar bem uma bicicleta elétrica antes de sair para um passeio.
📹: @NaomiCampbell https://t.co/loOnSEnGd7
— Hugo Gloss (@HugoGloss) October 3, 2026
Campbell’s improvised commute came during one of the busiest weeks on the Paris fashion calendar. The Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode scheduled the Spring/Summer 2027 womenswear shows from September 28 through October 6, with events spread across the French capital.
Footage from Campbell’s outing shows her preparing the Lime bike with the same deliberateness she has previously brought to planes. She puts on gloves, applies cleaning spray and wipes down the parts of the bicycle she expects to touch before climbing aboard.
The Celeb Post also reported that demonstrations and traffic had complicated Campbell’s trip between Fashion Week engagements, prompting the switch to two wheels.
A security guard followed on another bicycle while carrying Campbell’s bag, adding a distinctly Fashion Week element to what otherwise looked like an emergency urban commute.
Chanel Pumps Quickly Made the Ride More Complicated
Campbell approached the cycling itself with considerably less confidence than the cleaning. “I don’t even know if I can ride a bike,” she said before setting off, explaining that her recent cycling experience had mostly involved stationary bikes.
Her footwear immediately became part of the problem. As she moved forward, Campbell called back to her entourage asking for her sneakers and reminded them that sneakers had originally been her plan for the day.
Campbell Documented Her Airplane Cleaning Routine Years Before the Pandemic
The gloves and disinfectant fit a travel routine Campbell had already made public years before the Paris bike ride. In 2019, she uploaded a YouTube video titled Naomi Campbell’s Airport Routine | Come Fly With Me, taking viewers through the steps she followed whenever she boarded a plane.
Nylon reported that Campbell put on disposable gloves and wiped down the surfaces around her seat with antibacterial wipes. Her cleaning covered the seat area, screen and other surfaces she expected to touch.
Campbell explained that the routine made her feel more comfortable while traveling and mattered more to her than other passengers’ opinions about how elaborate it looked.
Her Protective Travel Gear Became an Iconic 2020 Image
Campbell’s approach to travel hygiene drew even more attention in March 2020, when she arrived at an airport wearing a full white protective suit, gloves, mask and goggles as COVID-19 concerns intensified.
Vogue later described the look as one of the symbolic fashion images of 2020. Campbell paired the protective gear with a Burberry cape, turning a practical precaution into an image that circulated around the world.
The appearance also changed the way people viewed her earlier airplane-cleaning videos. Practices that had seemed unusually meticulous in 2019 suddenly looked much more familiar as disinfectant wipes, masks and protective equipment became part of everyday life during the pandemic. Campbell later said she had been deeply cleaning her airplane space for well over a decade.
Travel Eventually Inspired a Fashion Collection of Its Own
Campbell’s constant movement between cities later became the starting point for a formal fashion collaboration. In February 2024, BOSS launched Naomi x BOSS, a travel-focused capsule developed closely with the model.
The brand described the collection as inspired by Campbell’s fast-paced lifestyle and designed to combine polished styling with practical features for frequent travelers. Pieces incorporated stretch materials, wrinkle-resistant fabrics and construction intended to make movement easier.
Campbell said she wanted clothes that could keep pace with her schedule while preserving the way she likes to dress. BOSS creative director Marco Falcioni added that the travel theme itself originated with Campbell and drew directly from her experiences and preferences.