Every now and then a model comes along who redefines the industry. The Supermodels did it, Kate Moss did it, and so did Cara Delevingne. Next up may just be Winnie Harlow.

As you have no doubt noticed from the picture above, the 21-year old from Toronto has vitiligo, a chronic skin condition that produces patches of pigmentation when the immune system attacks the body’s melanin. It began when she was four years old and she experienced bullying throughout school - she was frequently called a “cow”, thanks to the patch-like formations of her pigmentation - leading her to drop out at 16.

But it was thanks to Tyra Banks that Winnie, real name Chantelle Brown-Young, first found her footing as a model.

A photo posted by ♔Chantelle Winnie♔ (@winnieharlow) on Aug 13, 2015 at 6:42am PDT

In a very 21st Century style, Banks spotted Winnie, who stands at 5ft10” tall, on Instagram and approached her to audition for America’s Next Top Model, the show she created, executive produces and acts as a ball-breaking lead judge on. Winnie got through but was eliminated on the fourth episode. She returned in the ninth episode following a change to the rules and eventually placed sixth in the entire competition.

A photo posted by ♔Chantelle Winnie♔ (@winnieharlow) on Jun 18, 2015 at 3:28pm PDT

Following the show she was tapped by Spanish brand Desigual to become its representative, modelled during Ashish’s spring/summer 2015 London Fashion Week show, and starred in Diesel’s un-retouched spring/summer 2015 campaign.

A photo posted by ♔Chantelle Winnie♔ (@winnieharlow) on May 7, 2015 at 12:52pm PDT

It doesn’t end there though. She’s also had a starring role in Eminem and Sia’s Guts Over Fear video, in which she lip-synchs to the chorus in a platinum Sia wig; has been name-checked in Drake’s Get To Know Yourself; featured in Vogue Italia, Complex, Italian Glamour and Dazed & Confused magazines and flown over to the UK by famed photographer Nick Knight to be the subject of one of his high-profile SHOWstudio project.

To top it off she was enlisted to give a TED Talk to tackle the question ‘What is beauty?’

“When I was young I was picked on for something that today I feel is amazing. One thing about me connects millions of people around the world. And it’s my skin condition – vitiligo,” she said in it.

She goes by the name of Winnie Harlow when modelling, but Chanetelle Winnie for other endeavours. As she explains on her website: “Chantelle Brown-Young is my real name. Winnie is my nick name that I was given as a teenager and it has stuck with me. I’ve combined my real name and my nick name to create “Chantelle Winnie”. My alter ego where I seek confidence when I model is “Winnie Harlow.”

A photo posted by ♔Chantelle Winnie♔ (@winnieharlow) on Feb 18, 2015 at 6:11pm PST

She now boasts almost 900,000 Instagram followers and receives well over 20,000 'likes' for most of her posts. She sits at number 47 on models.com's social media ranking, which puts her above the likes of far more established models including Georgia May Jagger, Natasha Poly, Lara Stone and even original 'Super' Christy Turlington. In an era where a model's social media following is considered as part of the casting process, Harlow is winning.

A photo posted by ♔Chantelle Winnie♔ (@winnieharlow) on May 3, 2014 at 1:22pm PDT

What's next? A Vogue cover is her ultimate dream, and it looks like she may just get there. Wouldn't that be a nice shake-up for an industry that demands and promotes unachievable perfection?

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