Models recreate iconic paintings in stunning 'Harper's Bazaar' shoot
Models Winnie Harlow, Halima Aden and Candice Huffine were transformed into IRL versions of famous works of art for a stunning Harper's Bazaar shoot.
The Art Of Beauty story—shot by photographer Pari Duvoric—featured modern-day recreations of paintings by Vermeer, Botticelli and Leonardo da Vinci. The shoot featured five "trailblazing" models who were selected to recreate the world's most iconic artworks "just as they've redefined the runway."
Halima Aden—the Somali-American model who made history as the first hijabi model to walk at New York fashion week—was styled as Johannes Vermeer’s Girl With a Pearl Earring.
"I have both my ears pierced, but I’d never shown them before. It was just for me," Aden told Harper's.
Winnie Harlow—the model who's breaking down stigmas surrounding the skin pigmentation condition vitiligo—was styled as Da Vinci's enigmatic Mona Lisa.
In the Harper's piece, Harlow talks about the parallels between herself and the subject of Da Vinci's iconic painting and the fact that strangers "make assumptions" about her—and the Mona Lisa—based solely on appearance. "People come up to me all the time, like, ‘Oh, you know there’s a treatment, right?’ But why would I want to be any other way?" she told Harper's.
Plus-size model Candice Huffine was styled as The Birth of Venus, Botticelli's ode to female curves.
"When I saw The Birth of Venus, I was like, 'Oh, hey, girl,'" said Huffine. "I didn’t know at the time why I was seeking her out, but maybe I was looking for someone I felt a connection to."
The story can be read in full in November's issue of Harpers Bazaar US.
Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.
A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.
Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.
