Cinematic fashion website ShowStudio have made an amazing casting choice for their latest project. They’ve tapped 19-year-old Canadian model on the make Winnie Harlow – who models under the name Chantelle Young. She’s tall, slender, drop-dead gorgeous – but there’s something that sets her apart: she has vitiligo.
Vitiligo is most famous for being the disease that turned Michael Jackson’s skin white. It’s caused by the death of melanocytes – the cells that give skin their pigment – and it affects the skin in patches.
Vitiligo can occur in people of all races, but it is particularly noticeable on people with a lot of melanin (those with dark skin) like Winnie.
Winnie has just come off a stint on America’s Next Top Model, where she made the following impassioned plea:
“A lot of people have a story, a background, but mine is painted on my body.”
Her’s is a truly unique beauty. Here’s hoping more companies make the same choice as Showstudio, and we get to see a lot more of her.
Here are some more great examples of diversity in modelling. Can we see some more of these gorgeous ladies in the media, please?
