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If you grew up youtubing fashion shows and being immersed in the latest runway shows like me, chances are you grew up considering white, slender and blue-eyed models as the beauty standard running the world. And to some extent that was true!
For decades we’ve been conditioned into believe that European standards of beauty are undisputed, cue the endless barrage of cosmetic companies and media convincing us that light skin models are the norm to match up to.
However, there’s been a rapid shift in what can be called a resistance towards age-old beauty connotations and racist stereotypes. With an increasing amount of POC leading the world of beauty and fashion, we are finally getting the representation we deserve. And what’s better than seeing Indian models shaping the face of beauty in current times!
Meet Mannat and Sirat Kaur, twin models who are originally from Chandigarh and are currently based out of New York. The Indian duo began their modelling career quite accidentally, however their skillset goes beyond the runway and translates into other mediums of creativity. The 24 year olds find themselves constantly creating impactful visuals and captivating audiences with a fresh perspective on gender and identity beyond the dictums of society, and putting forth South Asian narrative amidst all of it.
Talking about their creative process, the duo admits that navigating the modelling industry can be quite tough but working together helps ease the anxiety and makes shooting stressfree. Connecting with each other and team is an effective way for the creative duo to channel their creative energy.
When quizzed about their biggest source of inspiration, the emerging models candidly expressed their admiration for the south asian friends, family and artisans that help them discover a unique sense of style and blend in varying elements into their work.
We visit our families in Piruwala and Pathreri (both villages in Haryana) at least once a year. There, the women are always mixing different patterns and colours to create their outfits for the day, without putting much thought into it. That somehow lends it a sense of uniqueness; we’re always inspired when we see that.
— Mannat and Seerat (Vogue)
As South Asian artists’, the duo revealed their most most fulfilling career miletone to be when Rihanna chose them to be a part of the 41 creatives defining the culture across fashion, music, art, activism and female empowerment.
The creative duo reaches out to shape up the modelling experience in a holistic manner as they believe in the importance of viewing models as more than just aesthetic muses for other artists’s work. Constantly pushing the envelope towards creating work that has a visual impact and makes the audience feel something has been the primary goal driving the duo.
Check out their collaborative work here.
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