Luminous eyes, walks that sear the ramps they blaze down on and personalities that sparkle - as the year draws to a close, we combed the nooks and crannies of the past few years to zero in the on the crop of the fashion circuit’s freshest faces that have been making waves in both our country, as well as internationally. Here are the stunners you should keep your eyes peeled for--covering both extremes of the gender spectrum of course.
"It's not an easy or comfortable industry,"
"The best and most experienced models from around the world are competing here. It requires a lot of focus, will power and determination, but I plan to give it my 100 per cent."
MNatasha
like my dream come true
‘traveling the world to create beauty alongside amazingly talented people’
bhumika-arora--listal,-smsmodelmanagement
friendly and welcoming’
‘a genuine sense of taking care of ‘the model’’
“I take it upon myself to research a client, or company, or brand or photographer before I meet them for a casting or job,”
“With Anita Dongre, I saw the diversity of her collections and that she was a huge fashion house. It was my first time wearing Indian bridal and was such a lovely experience to wear her garments!”
Kiesha-lal--stylist,-mans-world
smita-lasrado--elite,-vogue,-behance
we weren’t able to dig up as much information as we’d have liked about her but we haven’t been able to forget her face which entitles her to a position on this list, one way or the other.
Rasika--misterandmonsieur
“Although I’m mostly shooting in India, I do get a lot of calls for shoots in New York, Paris, the Middle East and Shanghai. I will explore newer pastures soon, but right now I want to do a Masters in either communication or fashion.”
ARCHANA-AKHIL-KUMAR--Behance,-Aneev-Rao
7. Ketholeno ‘Leno’ Kense
‘top model one day’
“I had no idea about photo shoots. Now I am learning to be comfortable and I hope I get even more comfortable. I am still learning,”
“I still struggle to be confident. I am still new to this industry. So at times, I get insecure and nervous. I am doing so many things for the first time.... I was nervous about what I was going to do. Having crossed that period, I now feel that everything has happened for a reason.”
Ketholense--behance,-santabanta
“Working hard and then going for long breaks, instead of partying and socialising”
“I modelled in Bangalore for a bit because it is difficult as a freelancer when you don’t want to join an agency, to first settle down in Bombay and then look for contacts or work with the right people,”
“Bangalore has a good fashion scene… good choreographers. Things fell into place by god’s grace. People loved me on the ramp. That gave me the confidence to move to Bombay.”
like an international model
rikee
“Fashion for me is power to express, it is a statement, it is class, it is style, it is luxury, and it is simplicity,”
. “I would say fashion as the dynamic powers of human being brought out in charismatic style.”
adirajchakrabarty.wix
“It’s a hard task from the operation theatre to the runway more so because it’s a switch of worlds,”
. “It requires tremendous focus and patience in both the careers. It’s quite hectic, but I try to choose selective modelling work only, and for this my agency, Anima Creatives is doing great job to help me select my assignments wisely!”
“I really want to open an NGO in the future, so I can get more funds to really operate on them well. I cannot change my country, but if I can change a few lives, then my life is good… You (alone) cannot change the whole country, but if everyone takes some initiative, you can.”
manu-bora-(behance
radhika-nair--keegan-crasto,-behance
idiauupam,-vouge,-behance,-facebook
pooja-mor--farrokh-chotaria
pallavi-das--santa-banta,-behance
tonyluke--behance,-mostbeautfiulmeninfashion
There are several models of Indian descent, too, that have been making their mark in international markets indicative of an emerging trend - much to our delight - as a part of which a wider range of skin tones and looks are now infiltrating the global fashion circuit. Check them out:
kellygale-tatiana-kurnosova.blogspot.com,-behance,-vogue
"I'm really happy that I'm working for a company that embraces diversity,”
“Especially because Burberry's a British brand and they realise that being British doesn't just mean being white."
Screen-Shot-2014-12-19-at-1.14
"I never expected to work with someone as huge as Burberry so suddenly, but I've absolutely loved every single minute of it,"
. "I actually didn't realise I was going to have such a big role in the show until someone mentioned it in passing to me the day before, and it didn't sink in until I was about to step out onto the catwalk. I loved it!"
tarun-nijjer--vogue,-marieclaire,-models
Words: Aditi Dharmadhikari