- Lifestyle & Sports
- 31 Aug 17
Model with skin condition Winnie Harlow: ‘Differences make us beautiful’
Winnie Harlow is a Canadian fashion model who found fame on America's Next Top Model. After placing fifth in the reality competition series, Harlow booked campaigns with Desigual, Diesel, Swarovski and Burt’s Bees. The Canadian girl was diagnosed with skin condition vitiligo at aged four, the same condition which is believed to have affected Michael Jackson.
In her childhood she had a difficult time at school because of the white patches on her skin. She was teased by children at school and called 'cow' or 'zebra', leading her to change schools several times.
“Of Course the bullying hit me. I had two options, to accept it or to bust it." she told to the German fashion magazine Gala. Winnie believes things began to take off for her when she embraced her unique look and used it to her advantage. “I loved myself. And with that, opportunities started to fall into my lap. And I thank God for all of them. Try loving yourself.”
The 23-year-old is now well on her way to becoming a top model thanks to her stunning look. She is a model in high demand: her army of fans includes artists, designers and photographers. Harlow is, after all, a runway queen influenced by the walk of Naomi Campbell and the iconoclasm of Marilyn Monroe. The Toronto-born star is also a former contestant on US reality show America’s Next Top Model (ANTM), muse of famed photographer Nick Knight and London designer Ashish. Today, Winnie has over 2.6 million subscribers at Instagram. She is an inspirational conversationalist with a journey from bullied schoolgirl to runway queen. She wants to blow up the fashion world by adorning the cover of Vogue and walking for Chanel.
In addition to these numerous photo shoots and catwalks, she was booked for a campaign of Desigual and was later named as a brand ambassador. The label announced the decision with a statement of admiration:
"She is pure inspiration, a whirlwind of positive energy, an example of strength and achievement, who demonstrates that we are all special and can achieve what we set out to do.”
However, even as the new face of Desigual, Harlow doesn’t want to be seen as just a “spokesmodel” for vitiligo. “If one day I’m all black I’m still a model. If one day I’m all white I’m still a model. I am not my skin. I am a model with a skin condition. Humans - like flowers - come in so many ranges; colours, heights and sizes, for example," she told harpersbazaar.co.uk. "None of those differences makes one flower or human better or more beautiful. It's the differences that make us all beautiful.”
Winnie Harlow has made the white spots her trademark. She is an inspiration and the living proof that "being different is beautiful".
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