Fashion face-off!

Lakme Fashion Week launched seven new faces on the ramp. Seema Sinha goes backstage for a model check
Has the modelling scene changed much over the last few years, and is it still seen as a lucrative profession, attracting and enticing many a youngster? Many established models feel that the modelling world has lost some of its sheen, thanks to showstoppers, who are rarely from the industry.Bollywood personalities, sportspersons, and luminaries from other fields are being roped in as showstoppers these days. “Kapil Dev is being invited to walk the ramp!” says Rahul Dev, a model turned actor, who also feels that the shelf-life of models these days is getting shorter. “Senior models like Sheetal Malhar and Mehr Jessia are still being welcomed to walk the ramp, but, honestly, I don’t know for how long the current crop of models will last.”
Dubbed as the Naomi Campbell of India, seasoned model Nayanika Chatterjee, who made her presence felt on the ramp for many years now, feels the designers get more mileage now than in the past. “Earlier, models were larger than the brand,” says Nayanika.
Another aspect that has changed is the environment. Professionalism has taken over. “Earlier, it was more entertainment than business. There is cut-throat competition now,” says Nayanika.
What continues to be the same is the way this profession is viewed as a stepping stone to films, especially Bollywood. Aishwarya Rai, Sushmita Sen, Priyanka Chopra, Lara Dutta, Bipasha Basu, Katrina Kaif, Deepika Padukone, John Abraham, Arjun Rampal, Rahul Dev, Dino Morea were all lost to the world of celluloid. And the new crop is no different. Says Pooja Chopra, the beauty pageant contestant who was crowned Pantaloons Femina Miss India World, 2009, and who has just completed her debut film in Tamil.
“I didn’t want to stagnate. Most people know of and about filmstars but they are unlikely to know who the top models are,” says Pooja.
But, there is definitely a great demand for models as the industry is booming. ‘These days, you can be a model full-time and you can be busy all-year round. There are shows 365 days,’ says Rahul.
Bryndis Helgadottir
Born and brought up in Reykjavik, this is her fifth visit to India. “I’ve been modelling in Iceland since I was 13. It was not a fulfilling career, and is not a long-term option. I like travelling, fashion and dancing. I want to finish University,” says Bryndis with an effervescent charm. Her favourite outfit is the nightgown. “But it is a figure-hugging dress that makes a woman look sensuous,” says Bryndis. Currently in a relationship, for Bryndis, love is life and she finds a man’s lips and eyes as his most attractive features. And Bryndis picks success over riches, “Simple, because success makes you feel more accomplished,” she quips.
Expert comment:
Marc Robinson, choreographer: He finds her unconventional looks unique.“She is fresh, tall and has a great body. She is a clothes-horse, and all designers would like her to wear their clothes.
‘I don’t know how well I will learn Hindi’
Keylie Bodeker
It is adventure sports that excite Keylie who has inherited her dark hair and dark eyes from her father — part Burmese, part Indian and part Australian. Besides India’s diversity and vibrancy, the booming market has brought her here. “The competition here is tougher than in Australia, but it is rewarding. We get to meet so many people every day with a different story and background,” says Keylie. She has thought of media, advertising or public relations as her long term career plan in Asia. And her face lights up when you mention Bollywood. “I liked that Brazilian girl Gizelle in Love Aaj Kal, but I am not too sure if I want to get into films. I don’t know how well I will learn Hindi,” says Keylie.
Expert comment:
Marc Robinson, choreographer: Keylie is sexy in a subtle way. She has a fresh face, she looks good and also a bit awkward which is working to her advantage. With time she will mature, now she appears a bit apprehensive.
Lekha Anantharaman
When tall and dusky Lekha hits the ramp in Manish Arora’s clothes, it gives her a major high. A complete foodie, Lekha says she would rather be in Paris, New York or Milan and has never given a thought to Bollywood. “I don’t fall in that category...the filmy kind. I would rather be a dumb model than a one-film wonder from B-Town,” quips this goodhumoured lass, who worships her body. “My body is like a temple,” says Lekha, who may plunge into fashion photography, or choreography or might just turn into a fashion critic in the next few years once modelling assignments wither away.
Expert comment:
Marc Robinson, choreographer: Lekha is nice. She is tall and has got a different look and appeal and will be appreciated internationally. She is like Laxmi Menon. She has great potential.
Rikee Chatterjee
Rikee Chatterji has many options if she decides to stop modeling — styling, mass communications, public relations. Originally from Kolkata, Rikee was born in Jamshedpur and she spent her childhood in the South. The bikini and sari are two clothing items that make a woman look sensuous and sexy, feels Rikee, who has participated in Wills, Colombo and Bangalore Fashion Week. She has worked with almost all the top designers in the country. She has had a taste of South film industry as well but never again. “Films are not my cuppa tea. They are not very respectful to women. I am a ramp model and I want to stay in the fashion industry,” says Rikki, who is now waiting to go international.
Expert comment:
Anu Ahuja, show director:
Rikki will be great on the ramp. She walks well and has an attitude. She is also very enthusiastic and pro-active. She has great potential.
Angela Jonsson
Soft, with gentle features, Angela Jonsson has decided to “immerse herself in the Bollywood culture very soon”. “A year down the line, I plan to get into films. I have grown up on Bollywood. Language is a barrier now, but I am learning Hindi,’ says 21-yearold Angela, offspring of an Indian mother and an Icelander father. Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Vidya Balan, Rani Mukherji are Angela’s favourites. “Each one of these has done something great with their lives,” she believes.
Expert comment:
Marc Robinson, choreographer:
Angela is the best of the lot. She has the right attitude and style to be in Bollywood.
Lubna Adams
Angela is gorgeous and shoots like a dream. She has a stunning face and will really go far.
Reha Sukheja
The first runners-up at the Miss India Universe pageant, Reha, who stands 6' 1" tall, is a winner because of her height and sheer presence.”My mom pushed me into modelling and when she announced that I was travelling to Mumbai, I said,’What is wrong with you? I am not going to’. But she pleaded, and here I am,” chirps Reha, an economics student from Hyderabad. “Offers started coming in and one day I saw Madhur Bhandarkar’s Fashion, and that really scared me off. But now I realise that it is not as bad,” adds Reha, who has a scholarship to Milan to study fashion marketing next year.
Expert comment:
Lubna Adams, choreographer:
She has a great body and is photogenic and confident. She’s also intelligent, sensible, has her career plans nicely worked out, and has her head on her shoulders. And then her height will help her do well in international modeling circuit as well.
Sofia Dzhneid
“If Katrina can do it, so can I,” says 19-year-old Sofia, a Ukrainian model who dreams of becoming a famous Bollywood actress some day. “Thinking about Madhubala gives me a high,” says the cute and cherubic Sofia. She has a secret that she would like to keep in her heart forever. And the sexiest attire for a woman she believes is anything in satin. “You know what I mean,’ she winks.
Expert comment:
Marc Robinson, choreographer:
Sofia has that oomph, she is sexy. Her awkwardness works to her advantage. Perhaps, currently she has apprehensions and is experiencing butterflies in her stomach.