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Changing the face of Indian fashion
The modelling industry in India is seeing a sudden renaissance and the change is for good. Leading modelling agencies in India such as Anima, Inega, Ninjas Model Management, and Feat.Cast, are promoting models who are a far cry from being conventionally beautiful.
Fair complexion, check. Chiseled facial features, check. Sculpted body, check. For years, Indian models have been perceived to be the ones who are conventionally gorgeous. But, the modelling industry in India is seeing a sudden renaissance and the change is for good. Leading modelling agencies in India such as Anima, Inega, Ninjas Model Management, and Feat.Cast, are promoting models who are a far cry from being conventionally beautiful. A girl with a facial cleft, a guy with vitiligo, another female model with a buzz cut— these models are fast changing the face of beauty in India.
Shantanu Gosavi from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, suffers from a skin condition called Vitiligo (Leucoderma). He has been modelling since 2016 and has shot with some of the famous brands and photographers. He has made his skin condition his strength. Another model, Sakshi Bisht, 18, from Dehradun, Uttarakhand, who has a lip cleft, has been modelling for leading e-commerce portals and fashion magazines.
“Indian fashion has become globalised and the demand for unconventional-looking models has increased. Sakshi has done some really cool editorials and has also been working regularly with a leading e-commerce portal. Her lip cleft only makes her unique,” says Ninja Singh, founder of modelling agency Ninjas Model Management.
Model Priya Singh is represented by another modelling agency call Feat.Cast. She rocks a buzz cut and has done campaign shoots for top Indian designers and her demand has increased all the more after she began sporting this look. Her agent Smita Lasrado says, “I believe we have arrived at a time where clients are realising that beauty doesn’t have one definition. I’m really happy to see this change within the business and its positive effect reaching outside the business. We love that our faces represent people from all over the country. We don’t consider our models unconventional. We find them beautiful, interesting and cool. They work in TVCs, print ads and fashion shows regularly, which validates our belief that the business and the country is ready to celebrate the beauty of India in all its glory.”
“I wasn’t expecting the kind of response I received from the fashion industry. I thought that maybe I’d be restricted from certain kinds of shoots. But everyone loved it, and wanted to shoot me, which kind of surprised me, and still continues to, because I’m still shooting Indian clothes, and looks. For me that represents a big shift. And it makes me feel great to be a part of this shift . I enjoy all the new styles that I get to experiment with,” says Priya Singh.
akshay.kaushal@htlive.com
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