‘No one suggests photoshop now’

Aastha Shah will walk the Cannes red carpet on May 17, also attending many events during the week; (right) Aastha in 2011

In 2018, Winnie Harlow, Canadian fashion model and advocate for vitiligo awareness, became the first celebrity to walk the Cannes Red Carpet flaunting her patches. In 2024, influencer Aastha Shah will follow in her footsteps. Attending the Cannes Red Carpet on May 19, Shah is currently busy with trials to pick a dress for her big day. The digital content creator, who shot to fame two years ago when she discussed her emotional battle with vitiligo (a chronic long-lasting autoimmune disorder that causes patches of skin to lose pigment or colour), says that being on that red carpet is going to change not just her life, but also will give hope to millions who suffer silently with the skin condition.

Joining us on a Zoom call from the US, she says, "How do you believe something this good can happen to you?" We get it. Society has always reminded those who look different that they can't achieve much. Merit is intricately tied to appearance. For Shah, Cannes sounded pretty surreal. "It felt like the little girl, Aastha, did good. I never dreamed of Cannes. The only dream I had was to inspire people to rise above their skin colour. I don't think I can put how I feel into words."

Shah does feel the immense pressure to represent a large number of people who are ostracised for their skin condition. "Now when I am on social media, I know there are people for whom it matters what I am there. When I put out my first video, people texted me asking ‘how do you deal with society?' I had patches, but I would wear short skirts and sleeveless clothes. Some girls showed my videos to their parents. It feels great when someone says, ‘I know your story and you are an inspiration'."

Winnie is Shah's role model. When Harlow became the first model with vitiligo to walk the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in 2016, Shah told her father that one day, she will become like Harlow. "Till I saw her, I didn't know I could be confident and deal with life chin up. I sometimes wonder, what if I bump into her on the red carpet. I might be tongue tied. And if I find words, I want to tell her that she is the reason I am me."

Harlow's vitiligo is different from Shah's. "My patches have completely taken over now. But Winnie has never let her spots hold her back, and I will take inspiration from that. Merging fashion with vitiligo is not easy. I have to be mindful of the colours I wear - I can't pick pastels because I look completely washed out. I can't wear red because I might camouflage with the carpet. There's a lot of overthinking in my own psyche. I grew up in a world that gave me a lot of hate for how I looked. When I got patchy, people said, ‘Oh, you look like a dalmation!' I would cry. My parents would remind me every day to work to be good at what you do. It's a fact that when you become successful, no one cares about how you look."

Shah stopped taking medication after six years, when they didn't work. "I have tried everything - naturopathy, allopathy, homeopathy, various temples, babas in villages - nothing worked. Vitiligo can increase or decrease depending on your body's constitution. There is no cure for it; chasing one was holding me back. I couldn't eat chocolates, anything sour, aerated drinks, couldn't go out in the sun. I didn't live a childhood. Once I stopped everything, I started living." Shah believes the world is way more inclusive now. "Yes, people do stare at me on the road and it's insane, but don't keep yourself hidden at home. Make those stares motivate you to go out there even more."

Shah is walking the red carpet at Cannes on May 17, but also has a host of other events to attend through the week. "I am nervous about the main event. We are still picking out the designers. I am hoping to wear a darker colour or probably, a shade of yellow. Everyone critiques the fashion industry for not being inclusive, but that hasn't been my experience. I have never heard, ‘No, we won't style you because you are patchy'. Over the years, brands have become better. People want you to show your real self. No one suggests photoshop. Real skin is celebrated now!"