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She may have come sixth in the popular model search but it was enough to get her noticed by major industry players, landing herself campaigns with the likes of Desigual and Diesel.
She was the most-talked about model at New York Fashion Week earlier this year and has high hopes of making the cover of Vogue – a dream that may soon be realised the way she’s going.
Winnie changed her name from Chantelle Brown-Young to “summon confidence”, she says, in an industry where perfection reigns supreme.
Perfect is something the 20-year-old Canadian is not: she was diagnosed with the pigment disorder vitiligo when she was four and has prominent patches of discolouration on her face and body.
Her fame has brought her hordes of fans – many of whom have been posting images to social media wearing make-up to resemble their heroine.
But their messages have caused a controversy, with many comparing what was meant to be a form of support and admiration to blackface.
Winnie, however, was not offended. She went public to say she appreciated the women’s actions and posted a response to Instagram.
"Every time someone wants fuller lips, or a bigger bum, or curly hair, or braids does Not mean our culture is being stolen,” she wrote. “Have you ever stopped to realize these things used to be ridiculed and now they're loved and lusted over. No one wants to 'steal' our look here.
"Just because a black girl wears blue contacts and a long weave doesn't mean she wants to be white and just because a white girl wears braids and gets lip injection doesn't mean she wants to be black... In a time when so much negative is happening, please don't accuse those who are showing love and appreciation, of being hateful."
This didn’t go down well with her critics, who accused her of being ignorant and out of touch with the real world. One called her “an insult to everyone rooting for her”, another that she “loves the attention from white amerikkka” (sic).
So Winnie hit back with a second response:
"I agree & am knowledgeable to these things. & by all means I get it. But It's one thing to recreate my skin & wear a crown in a photo, & it's another to recreate my face & then wear a noose (which is not the case).
"There's this fine line between stealing & showing appreciation or seeing that somethings are being accepted by the world. There are things that have been taken without recognition (from Art, to culture, to language and beyond and from many races including our own), this is not one of them." (sic)
Cue more criticism, with detractors accusing her of being “white-washed”. Back to Instagram she went with a final response.
"The point here is Not to make it seem that Blackface is okay, or act like our people haven't gone through hell and back to then have things from our culture be stolen,” she wrote. “#BlackLivesMatter This is Very true.
"But This situation has nothing to do with blacks or whites. All races have recreated the pattern of my skin and when they did it, it was complimented and glorified." (sic)
A long journey
As a child Winnie suffered as she battled to accept her condition. Born in Toronto to a single mom, she moved schools several times because of bullying and eventually dropped out of school at “16 or 17, I don’t remember”.
Modelling never occurred to her until YouTube personality Shannon Boodram saw pictures of her on Facebook and asked her to star in a music video.
Requests for print work came in after that, although no modelling agency wanted to sign her. And then came the call from Tyra Banks, host of America’s Next Top Model.
“The moment I laid eyes on Chantelle, I wanted her on Top Model,” Tyra told The Guardian. “Her beauty is undeniable and her skin breaks down barriers of what is considered beautiful.”
While there are treatments for vitiligo, Winnie isn’t interested. She’s doing things her way and she doesn’t care what others think. “It’s my life,” she said in The Guardian. “People think that because I’m so proud of my skin I stand for making no changes. I’m not for or against anything other than being happy.”
What do you think? Is Winnie right about the blackface issue or are you on the side of the critics?
