A New Generation Of Indian Models Is Shaping Our Definition Of Beauty

A new generation of Indian models is shaping our definition of beauty. Casting its gaze on a more authentic identity in fashion is talent agency Feat. Artists, writes Akanksha Kamath

- Akanksha Kamath

“Your idea of beauty is formed by the people you come in immediate contact with—the people who feed you, play with you and teach you,” explains Nikhil Dudani (or ‘Nikhil D’, as per his preferred alias). As one half of Feat. Artists, a home to models, photographers and stylists, Nikhil, along with model Smita Lasrado, is pushing for an industry-wide shift where diversity does not come with a strict quota attached.

“Why did we only have European or South American models in campaigns all through the late ’90s and early 2000s?” he asks. In India, often, our layered colonial past favours Eurocentric beauty standards—fair skin, straight hair, lithe bodies. “That pushed me to dig deeper and find models who reminded me of people I grew up around.”