I’ve had some crazy experiences in my life, but the last place I expected to find myself on the first day of New York Fashion Week was in a Midtown dance studio watching Naomi Campbell bust a move. But it happened. And it was kind of amazing.

Naomi and a gaggle of young models were rehearsing their Fashion’s Night Out performance, which will take place tonight at Dolce & Gabbana’s New York flagship on Madison Ave. The dance, put together by Campbell’s friend Laurie Gibson, features Naomi fist-pumping to Jay-Z, Rihanna, and Kanye West in “Run this Town.” Gibson, who’s made a name for herself choreographing tons of music videos, including Lady Gaga’s, is so positive and encouraging I almost wanted to jump in there. “It doesn’t have to be perfect, just honest” she tells the girls. “Except for the marches–those have to be perfect–you’re models!”

The theme of Dolce & Gabbana’s FNO party is, simply, Naomi. She’s been in the business for 25 years, so they’re celebrating with limited edition t-shirts featuring iconic images of Naomi taken by the likes of Patrick Demarchelier and Steven Meisel. I got the chance to chat with the Super for a few minutes. She was very humble and genuinely excited about the whole thing. “It’s such an honor to work with Laurel,” she told me. “I studied dance and I always wished I could do dance or performance. But I chose a career as a model instead. This is a dream come true.” As for what she thinks about an entire evening dedicated to her career: “The whole thing is just really fun. It’s a celebration.”

Click through for my photo diary of the rehearsal.

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