Albino model thando hopa pirelli 1

Albino villains

South African model and lawyer Thando Hopa is in the iconic Pirelli Calendar featuring an all-black cast in an Alice in Wonderland -inspired shoot. Need we say more? I never had a linear world view, because I had to experience the contrast of being home and fully accepted for who I am to leaving the sanctum of the household and family nucleus and walking out into a world that misunderstood my difference.

I would do everything possible to hide my difference. I would hide the fact that I had a bad eyesight, that would result in me performing poorly at school, as I could not see what was on the board. The interesting thing about law and modeling is they both deal with representation. It is the business of representation so that means carry more than yourself; you carry more people.

When I put myself out there I carry far more images than just one. I am a woman, I am a woman with albinism, I am a South African, I am a black person, so that means everything I do it carries thousands of people. The more I mature in this industry, the more I understand the fullness of the images that I carry. I really try to do what I can do to build on all those images and shape narratives that create a positive and empowering perception of all of my images.

The Pirelli Calendar spoke mostly about the importance of representation in storytelling and Alice in Wonderland was basically a template for that message. To really be brought into significance.

Characters with albinism

When representation comes into play, such as this, you basically say that possibilities belong to everyone. Beauty should not be confined and labeled as African beauty as if it were a niche. I just believe beauty is the celebration of an image and what it means for the world now is becoming more diverse. Initially there was one conventional beauty type bombarded by the media and now there is a lot that is challenging that conventional beauty.