MAC Viva Glam 25 and Winnie Harlow

I was an America’s Next Top Model ADDICT, and Tyra Banks is a goddess, so I was a little less than impressed when ANTM alumini Winnie Harlow – who Tyra found on the internet and invited on to the show – discredited it.

Eh, not fierce, Winnie, not fierce! Winnie has certainly made it big since her time on the show in 2014, and whilst I am sure she’s worked hard, come on – got to give Tyra a little bit of credit.

Anyway, here she is in her social media famous Ru Paul get-up, for M·A·C VIVA GLAM 25, remaking the original Viva Glam campaign – with Ru Paul.

The MAC Viva Glam campaign is a 100 per cent giving campaign, and for 25 years the brand has been fighting HIV/AIDS around the world with new trailblazing grants, as well as an emboldened, expanded vision.

The campaign has raiaed $500 million over the 25 years, and has an expanded focus now on healthy futures, equal rights for Women, Girls and LGBTQ+ comminuties, as well as reaffirming the commitment to ending HIV/AIDS.

So, to celebrate, MAC is paying homage to the iconic first-ever VIVA GLAM camopaign, and the original red VIVA GLAM I Lipstick.

Over to Winnie.

“I was inspired to recreate the original Viva Glam campaign after my hairdresser, Jay Brumant, showed me the beautiful images. Working in fashion, I’m surrounded by many types of beauty, and I strongly feel that the contributions of the LGBTQ+ community are both prominent and embraced in the fashion world,” she explains.

“I remember being invited to my first Vogue Ball. It was invigorating to see so many people from different walks of life come together and celebrate themselves freely. Ever since then, I have loved & always wanted to try to recreate a ‘drag moment’. I knew that if I was ever going to attempt it I would need to embrace an iconic look, and who is more iconic than RuPaul in the MAC Viva Glam campaign?!

“So when I was in full regalia, post Adam Burrell’s make-up magic, my friend and New York photographer, Gabriel Perez Silva, helped me recreate the images, and that’s how this costume came to be! I’m so honoured to follow in the footsteps of amazing artists like Lady Gaga, Elton John, and Ru celebrating Viva Glam’s 25th Anniversary alongside raising awareness for the MAC Viva Glam Fund.”