(CNN)Canadian model Winnie Harlow, born Chantelle Brown-Young, did not have an easy childhood. At the age of four she was diagnosed with vitiligo, an incurable skin pigmentation disease that causes colorless patches to develop on a person’s body.

Bullied for the way she looked, her peers at school taunted her with cruel nicknames such as “cow” and “zebra”. “The bullying was so bad that I was forced to drop out and be home schooled,” Harlow recalls.

Fast-forward to 2016 and Harlow has over one million followers on Instagram, she’s the face of Spanish fashion label Desigual and she’s been shot by fashion photographer and director of online platform SHOWstudio Nick Knight, whose portfolio includes Kate Moss, Lady Gaga and Kanye. From social pariah to global “it” girl…[+]