Aanchal Jain is not just a fashion designer, marathon runner and model, but also a realist, who doesnt view modelling through rose-tinted glasses
By Asmita Aggarwal
There is a lot that a model needs to do, feels newbie Aanchal Jain, besides just possessing washboard abs. She believes you need to be engaging, go out and meet people, attend parties, be seen on page 3, as that will help you get assignments. At least, this 22-year-old is honest enough to admit this. And sometimes what is heart-breaking is that you are good, but still you dont get selected, she adds.
But this five feet ten in tall model from Faridabad, did face family and societal opposition when she decided to walk the runway. Her parents were worried that modelling has a shelf life and that it is not a stable profession, where you will get retirement benefits and a monthly salary. But this did not deter Aanchal. I am self-made, and it was a struggle. I also am a part-time fashion designer, and run my own boutique, where I have karigars, who translate my sketches on to Indian ensembles. This was something I wanted to delve into, so I started two years ago, with a small workshop, she admits.
Maybe thats another reason why she also admires women from small towns who have hit it big time, like the girl from Karnal, Bhoomika Arora, who has conquered the West so much so that Roberto Cavalli, Alexander Wang, Vera Wang and Stella McCartney have had her on her shows. Imagine Belgian guru Dries van Noten selecting you for his show (2014), this is a big honour. I read her story and I was mesmerised— how people in her village in Haryana, would say she looks like a boy and made fun of her lithe frame. Look at her now, all those who laughed at her are now biting dust, while she is the rising star, she confesses.
To be a model, Aanchal feels one also needs to be punctual and must know how to keep fit, manage odd hours (hair and make up at 8 in the morning or 10 at night). My advice, if I can give any to young models is that you need to have guts of steel, it is really a very competitive place as many foreign models are also eating into the work pie. So, be really good to survive, she adds.
Besides, fashion and the runway, Aanchal is also a marathon runner and managed to win the trophy for second runner up at the Asian Hospital Marathon for which she trained for a year, building her stamina. Running is destressing, it enables you to cope, it is also liberating, and gives you a sense of achievement when you cross the finish line, victorious, she concludes.