Petra Collins is a renaissance woman. At just 23 she has cemented herself as one of the 100 Creatives Shaping Youth Culture by "Dazed" Magazine, as well as one of the 40 Creatives to Watch in 2016 by "Vogue" Magazine. Her stunning and captivating photos have been featured in a variety of high profile fashion magazines; such as "Vogue," "Purple Magazine," "I-D Magazine," "Wonderland Magazine," "Dazed and Confused," "L'Officiel," "Elle," and "LOVE Magazine." In addition to this impeccable resume Collins also regularly contributes to ROOKIE, has modeled for Gucci and Calvin Klein, directed a music video for Lil Yachty and Carly Rae Jepson, and even acts as a supporting role in Amazon's TV show "Transparent."
Collins has been featured and curated over a dozen shows since 2011, spanning from galleries in New York to Miami's Art Basel to shows at San Francisco's Evergold Projects. She is mostly known for pioneering a distinct and colorful aesthetic, a signature found in her photographic work.Her ethereal visuals and unique point of view is what resonates with her legions of fans. Her most current project for "Wonderland Magazine" involves taking portraits of Kim Kardashian West, you know no big deal.
Besides being an incredibly talented young artist, Collins is also an outspoken feminist. She uses her platform and voice to empower women to be comfortable in their own skin and to not feel pressured by society to conform to unattainable beauty standards. Collins shared a photo of herself on Instagram in which she is wearing a bikini bottom with an unshaven bikini line. Trust me, this photo is much more modest than its description. Upon the posting of this photo, Collins received a plethora of despicable comments suggesting that the very notion that a woman could have pubic hair as "disgusting" and "vile". Instagram was quick to not only delete this one photo but went as far to delete Collins' entire Instagram page. You can read her response to this drastic act of censorship here.
I greatly admire Collins candor and courage in depicting women as REAL women, not airbrushed and photoshopped goddesses, whose false images prey on the self-esteem of young girls. Here is a truly awesome video of her talking about femininity:
