FDCI Team, Author at Fashion Design Council of India

Size matters

Zenia Boga, is a model of many talents, from styling to acting, glamour makes her heart sing By Asmita Aggarwal At six feet one inch Zenia Yazad Boga, literally and almost metaphorically looks down on the rest of the world! But this is actually part of a genetic lottery that she won thanks to both her maternal and paternal grandparents who are more than six feet two inches tall. I moved to England for my higher studies so there everyone is already so tall, I wasnt considered an anomaly; in India, a lot of people just stand and stare at me, she giggles. Zenia, from a Parsi family, began modelling almost two years ago and came back to the country to complete her Bachelor of Mass Media (BMM), and pursue modelling full-time. My mom has been pushing me to take up modelling after I won the May queen contest, which helped me in grooming and was my first attempt at the spotlight, remembers the young model selected this year. Though fashion has been her calling since she turned 16, and the UK helped her observe behind the scenes when she interned with matches.com, Clarks and L.K. Bennett and worked with a stylist for Indian magazines. At 23, she was ready to finally come out of the shadows and face the camera, as she believes she is not cut out for a corporate job like her father who is the CEO of Intellika. My younger sister is training to become a chef, both of us chose career paths that made us happy and luckily my parents are extremely supportive, especially my mom who is a teacher, she admits. Interestingly, Zenia has a passion for art and has been sketching which she hopes to develop in the future with a fashion line, as styling was a big part of her journey. I love the catwalk more than the staid print campaigns, in fact, people often come and ask me where I get the confidence to pose so effortlessly. But when Im up there I really own it and I want to create a beautiful image, she explains. Taking acting classes at Jeff Goldberg, Zenia wants to explore different facets of her personality and being a trained Bharatnatyam dancer she also wanted to learn Western dance from Shiamak Davar, but her first love is freestyle, as it lets the body find the rhythm. I really cant tell you what I will do in the future, as I live my life one day at a time, but I do know I will continue to model till it gives me happiness, she concludes.

Wheels of Fortune

For Sneha Ghosh, 27, who found meaning in life through yoga talks about why the body and mind need to be in tune By Asmita Aggarwal Her tryst with glamour came when she was selected for the Femina Ms India Eastern round, but due to strict attendance in St Xaviers College, Kolkata had to give up her dreams to winning the crown. But destiny has its ways to compensate and in Sneha Ghoshs life, it appeared serendipitously when she had no passport and had to fly to Malaysia for the finals of Asias Next Top Model contest in 2014. I met a lady IAS officer, who helped me when I told her that I need my passport in a day and it did come to me. I told her I am going to represent my country internationally and she understood, says Sneha. The contest taught her co-living with girls from different parts of the country, almost 20, sharing cultural experiences and dialects as well as food and clothing. She faced racism and people made fun of her accent, as many came with pre-conceived notions about India, though she survived all of it with courage. Making it to the top 10 was an achievement, and what kept her out of the race, in the end, was a momentary lapse of confidence. Sneha always had long, lustrous hair, the contest posed a challenge where without a mirror they chopped it all off and almost shaved her head from one side leaving her shocked. I didnt do my photoshoot well as I couldnt work my new hairstyle. But I realised that you cant let one element of your body decide your demeanourwhether it is your tresses, waist or legs. Confidence is more internal than external so let your personality shine through, she adds. And just observing was a learning curve when during the lingerie round at freezing temperatures the contestants managed to pose, while Sneha hesitated, leaving her inspired. I never wanted to be a model, I hit upon it by chance, my dream was to be an IAS officer, but I was bullied in school and had no self-confidence. Modelling really helped me get that back, she admits. Initially, parents didnt support her, they wanted her to choose conventional paths, they would shy away from telling people that she was a model, but there is a lot more to Sneha than just ramp walk. She is a practising yogini, it has been the fulcrum of her existence, and she also keeps fit by kickboxing, weight lifting realising that the body will change at every age, from 16 to 86, so you need to keep fit. Yoga calmed me down, I had many body issues, and also taught me self-love, it has been an enlightening experience for me, she confirms. What upsets Sneha is that when people talk of yoga it is only Baba Ramdev or Shilpa Shetty, but yoga, she feels needs more ambassadors. When people think of yoga I want them to think of me as I know its true essence, she affirms. In her spare time, Sneha loves riding her bike and would love to sing on stage or take up playback singing as she is a trained classical singer. This is for my mom, who loves to see me croon, she smiles. Her motto remains, grow through life, not go through life… and listen to yourself and your body. You have to stop looking for validation from the outside world and deal with our insecurities by loving ourselves, without caring about judgements of the world, she concludes.

Dusty Town, Big Dreams

Modelling is witnessing a chrysalis of sorts with small-town girls becoming coveted faces on the catwalk. One such tale is of Pragya Bais, a lawyer… By Asmita Aggarwal She grew up in a small town—Singrauli, in Madhya Pradesh, in a joint family, she had five siblings and her dad used to also support his brothers family as her uncle refused to work. Such challenging circumstances kind of polished the rough diamond— Pragya Bais. It was hard for my father, but he did all this without ever complaining. I had two pairs of clothes one for home and one for when we went out, which was seldom. We travelled in general compartment and mom would make us rotis which would dip in tea and enjoy, on our train journeys, she smiles. So today when Pragya made it to the list of models to walk for LMIFW and took a flight to get to the city, she remembered those humble days with family. I used to watch fashion TV when I was young, that was my only knowledge of fashion and no one in my home is even remotely connected to this field. In fact, they dont even consider it a profession worth talking about. My dad always told me not to join, as models he felt are not respected. So today when he sees me do well, he talks about my success to our relatives. I am happy to see him change his view of what women are perceived to be like in fashion, she laughs. Pushed to studying law, Pragya completed her degree from Pune University, (also she was committed to help people in dire straits), but her heart was set on modelling so without telling her parents or asking them for any financial help she would go for auditions. I was keen on constitutional law as that really connects you to the grassroots. But life under the spotlight fascinated me. To earn money, I joined a company and worked as a customer assistant for Rs 18,000 a month that would help me join a gym, buy clothes and pay for travel, she adds. However, life kind of metamorphosised, and from an introvert, who had no self-confidence and could never face anyone, fashion instilled in her the will to succeed and chase her dreams. Now to be a model it is not about just beauty, you need individuality. And I hope to also do theatre as acting interests me and I am saving up for it. With family acceptance things are now easier, she admits. In the future, Pragya hopes to start her own business as she has been smitten by certain aspects of designing, and maybe later would like to pursue it. I think what has brought me here in life is my optimism and never-say-die attitude. I tried many times for India Fashion Week, but I never made it, however, it didnt dim my enthusiasm. Unlike many other girls who were crying and complaining when they didnt get selected, I took it positively and came back next year, with a better version of myself, she concludes.