That Rihanna had chosen a 19-year-old Indian girl, Naomi Janumala, to be the face of her cosmetic brand Fenty's clothing line, generated a lot of excitement. Janumala was only 16 when she was spotted by Gunita Stobe of Anima Creative Management, a Mumbai-based modelling agency that pitches Indian models to big design houses across the world, including Fendi and Louis Vuitton.

Up until even just a couple of seasons ago, they were not popular. However, more and more, it seems, Indian models, male and female, are leading the charge in diversifying the fashion scene in the west. Criticised for casting mostly Caucasian models on the runway or ad campaigns, fashion houses in the west are no longer limiting their search to typical white girls. Add to this the success of transgender models Andreja Pejic and Hari Nef, and you get a revolution against the conventional ideas of beauty and body.

There are several popular Indian faces in the roster of models seen on international ramps, like Bhumika Arora and Pooja Mor, and now Indian male models too are gaining traction in the industry, walking the runways in the big four-Paris, Milan, London and New York.

Chakshu Sharma for BUSCEMI, Milan Fashion Week 2019. Credits: Anima Creative Management PVT LTD.

Pratik Shetty, for example, recently walked for MSGM at the Paris Fashion Week Spring/Summer 20, last month. Tall, dark and lean, Shetty landed 15 shows during the fashion week and topped it off by closing the show for Lanvin. Another Indian model, Tuhir Brahmbhatt, was launched in an exclusive debut for Louis Vuitton, while Chakshu Sharma made his entrance last season with Marni and, later walked for Loewe. Mustafa Dawood, with the Elite Modelling Agency, has walked for Antonio Marras, Valentino, Prada and Alexander McQueen.

Much of it can be attributed to the change of guard in the fashion industry, where criticism against designers only casting white models has forced a change in attitudes. "With the International Fashion Industry finally including faces from all ethnic backgrounds, it was just a matter of time before Indian male models arrived on the Global stage. It's a bit of a trend at the moment with new faces popping up each season and we hope it will not just be that, a trend, but a mainstay in the seasons to come," says Stobe.

Pratik Shetty for Hermes, Paris Fashion Week 2019. Credits: Anima Creative Management PVT LTD

According to Stobe, there is a surplus of male models in India. "Freelance models will do almost anything to try and get exposure or land a job and, sadly, they only end up damaging their own careers by choosing to work for next to nothing, some for free, and some even paying designers to be on the shows for them. There are always exceptions, of course, but this is the reality for most of the boys," she says.

The paradox lies in the fact that even while Indian models are sought after worldwide, they are shunned in India in favour of models with lighter skin."When we go for our meeting in Paris, London, New York and Milan, everyone we meet there knows all our models by names and what they have achieved, versus our own market where many industry professionals have never heard of Pooja Mor or Dipti Sharma," says Stobe. "We talk about inclusivity but we don't have basic inclusivity in our own industry."

According to industry experts, there is a serious need to talk about diversity in fashion in India. Obsessed with fairness as the gold standard in beauty, a large number of models-whether on Indian runways or in e-commerce campaigns-are from East Europe, Russia and the former USSR countries.

Tuhir Brahmbhatt for Louis Vuitton, Paris Fashion Week 2019. Credits: Anima Creative Management PVT LTD.

Those with darker skin tones get the shorter end of the stick. Shetty, a Mumbai boy, while scrolling through Instagram, had chanced upon an advertisement for an Elite Model contest and decided to give it a shot. He made it to the top eight models from India but did not win. "I started getting some feedback, some small shoots and shows. I did almost everything which came my way and my first big break in my very early stages of my international career was when I shot for Alexander Mcqueen SS20 lookbook in London in June by the legendary photographer Ethan Green and stylist Alister Mackie," says Shetty. Recalling the emotional moment of getting the call about having been placed with modelling agency IMG models in Europe, he says, "It seemed my look wasn't appealing to the clients in India so there were very few jobs for me but in the international market I hardly have time to sit at home. I am out all day either doing castings or fittings," he adds. Despite the tough competition, he is pleased with the diversification in international fashion. "In my experience, 60 per cent of models walking the runway this season that I have seen have been black and brown," he says.

Brahmbhatt's experience has been similar to Shetty's "In India, modelling is not even considered a real job and there's long way to go still, but slowly and gradually we're getting there. European fashion scene is just a different league. I'm more valued in Europe than in my own country. We don't embrace our own people and there is no appreciation for the Indian models representing India and doing it well" he says. Back home, it is disappointing to see the modelling industry lacking in sustainable work in terms of diversity. "The work becomes repetitive and clients seek out the same faces over and over," adds Brahmbhatt.

According to Stobe, internationally, there is an increasing interest in discovering new and fascinating faces from India. "Each new season we have more interest from our partner agencies and new opportunities for our models to go abroad. This is a great time for Indian models and it seems their time has finally arrived to be accepted on a global platform," says Stobe.

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