WINNIE HARLOW

SHE HAS MADE FASHION HISTORY AS THE FIRST MODEL WITH VITILIGO, BUT CANADIAN STUNNER WINNIE HARLOW BRISTLES AT THE IDEA OF BEING SLOTTED INTO A SPECIAL BOX. ON A WHIRLWIND 48-HOUR VISIT TO MUMBAI FOR THE VOGUE WOMEN OF THE YEAR AWARDS, SHE TALKS TO PRIYANKA KHANNA ABOUT WHY THE CONVERSATION AROUND BEAUTY NEEDS TO CHANGE AND HOW SHE’S HAD TO CREATE HER OWN BLUEPRINT FOR HER CAREER

- PRIYANKA KHANNA

At 6pm on an unusually rainy Sunday in October, model Winnie Harlow is in search of biryani. She’s en route to the airport to fly back to Brooklyn, New York, after two action-packed days in Maximum City. Harlow, who was in town to be honoured at Vogue India third annual Women of the Year Awards, has just wrapped up her first cover shoot for the magazine (“Everything lined up perfectly. I love when a photographer knows exactly what he wants, it makes everyone’s day so much easier,” she tells me), and she’s looking forward to some well-deserved sleep on her red-eye. But first, she wants a heaped plate of biryani and her surprising favourite childhood treat—piping hot jalebis. As she digs in, she reflects on growing up in a large family, the beauty questions she hates and what continues to motivate her.

Priyanka Khanna: I have to ask—jalebis? I never imagined they were a favourite.

Winnie Harlow: I’m Jamaican, so I’m used to strong flavours and fragrant foods. And I grew up in Toronto, which is one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world. We had a lot of Indian children in school and there was a tuck shop we would all go to that sold food from different countries, like doubles from Trinidad and samosas and jalebis from India, all of which had such flavour.

PK: Tell us about your childhood.