Light Summer - Connie Chiu

a collage of model with albinism, connie chiu, and her best hues, contrast, and intensity 

Next up is model and jazz musician, Connie Chiu. This trailblazer became the world's first fashion model with albinism when she began modeling for Jean-Paul Gaultier in the early 1990s.

Members of her community are often looked at as a monolith - aren't they all Light Summers because they don't have, like, any coloring? Definitely not!

While the lack of melanin greatly diminishes hue variation, those with albinism still express great variation in other aspects of color, including value (light or deep) and intensity (soft or bright). 

Chiu is the first person with this skin pigmentation variation that I'd like to highlight because she truly is that rare, icy bright, Light Summer.  

Trying on the Colors

Connie Chiu is Chinese (Asian), originally from Hong Kong. She is sometimes casually typed as either a Bright Winter or Bright Spring. Understandably so - she radiates in nearly every picture if she has a color with any brightness, whether it's light, dark, cool, or warm.

In high fashion, individuals with albinism very easily slide into different seasons with the magic of hair and make-up, creating avant-garde photographs that have ultra-modern vividness and dynamism. This contrast is also why Summers make such fantastic goths.😀

But to find someone's home season, we actually look for balance. 

Compared to the more natural coloring above, the modeling shots of Chiu ins Bright Winter required the addition of striking make-up to deepen her. In Bright Spring, she looks electric - but warmth had to be added to balance out the lime greens and hot pinks. And in softer colors, like the bottom right photo, her unique beauty is dulled and obscured.  

Another Look

In contrast, Chiu is ethereal when dressed in the hues of Light Summer. She is bright, of course, but her dominant trait is light. Her natural coloring in everyday makeup is completely light and almost entirely cool, with her natural pink cheeks shining through in the bottom left picture.

She's so light and gentle that its difficult for her not be be overpowered by strong colors without significant alteration. Even the light summer staple, the cherry pink top she wears, is almost too strong.  

Chiu's main photo (taken by Ellis Parrinder) is my absolute favorite picture of her. He captures the bright light that radiates from her like a sunbeam illuminating an earthly angel from the clouds.

My Vote

My vote is for Summer Light Tinted in the Icy Subseason that radiates light first and foremost.

Learn More

Chiu was featured in one of the first Albinism Awareness Campaigns by the UN Human Rights Council in 2015 and advocates against 

  • discrimination for people with albinism and
  • impunity for those who commit violent acts against the community 

If you'd like to support Chiu in her mission to normalize albinism, you can Participate in this year's International Albinism Awareness Day on June 13th, 2024 by:

  • Sharing the hashtag #AlbinismDay 
  • Following the UN head albino advocacy, Muluka-Anne Miti-Drummond, @UnAlbinism

    If you are also a Light Summer, check out additional inspiration in the #SummerLightTinted collection in my shop. 😊