Winnie Harlow, Halima Aden and Hari Nef Are Literal Works Of Art In Harper’s Bazaar’

Winnie Harlow, Halima Aden and Hari Nef posed as famous artworks – the subjects of which they have more in common with than you may at first think.

The striking ‘Art Of Beauty’ editorial by photographer Pari Duvoric for Harpers Bazaar US honoured the work of artists who created iconic paintings that have stood the test of time.

Harlow sat as Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, while Aden re-imagined  Vermeer’s Girl With a Pearl Earring and Nef stunned as John Singer Sargent’s Madame X.

As well as being an homage to great beauties of old, the photos emphasise today’s trailblazers in the fashion world.

Moreover, the muses of old and new share common ground.

The Mona Lisa, for example, has been attracting people’s projections for centuries now.

Likewise, Winnie Harlow has had her fair share of strangers making assumptions about her due to her 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? Winnie Harlow
Halima Aden, emulating that famous girl with the pearl earring, confronts the reasons she wearsearrings when she doesn’t usually show her ears, which tend to be covered under her hijab.

“I have both my ears pierced, but I’d never shown them before,” she said. “It was just for me.”

The muse behind the original Madam X was Virgenie Amélie Avegno Gautreau, a famed socialite known for her beauty. 

Hari Nef said she was particularly drawn to Gautreau’s indifference.

“You can be in a beautiful dress with your skin exposed and be very sensual,” explained Nef.

“But it doesn’t mean you have to lock eyes with the first Tom, Dick, or Harry you see. Maybe you just want to stare at the wall.”