Bengaluru's fashion runway models - A runaway success

By ​Smita Balram Kumar
BENGALURU: The city's fashion and beauty exports are on an all-time high. Right from haute runways, fashion glossies and calendars to campaigns of design bigwigs models from the city are grabbing all the headlines in the Indian fashion arena. City girls Rachel Bayros, Archana Akhilkumar, Jyothsna Chakravarthy , Dayana Erappa, Nidhi Sunil, Mitali Rannorey , Pallavi Singh and Lakshmi Krithika have transformed into style icons of India.

Yes, Bengaluru is known for its fertile soil for fashion. It has given regular doses of glamour through Miss India, ramp models to actresses in Lara Dutta, Lakshmi Menon, Vidisha Pavate, Deepika Padukone and Anushka Sharma. However, the current crop is creating a pan-India storm purely in the couture department. Rachel is strutting the prestigious runways of New York and Barcelona. Archana has emerged as the most sought-after exotic face by fashion's big daddies. As a muse to ace couturier Tarun Tahiliani, she features in all his campaigns. Fashion week regular Dayana features in designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee's campaigns. Jyothsna is a well-known face on television.Mitali, Pallavi and Lakshmi are fashion week regulars. Nidhi's unconven tional looks have secured her a permanent space in fashion editorials.

Watchdogs of the fashion industry reason the success. Renowned fashion photographer Waseem Khan has been capturing top models in hi lens for 28 years now. He observes, "Chocolate seems to be the flavour for the past few years. This is the common thread running between all these girls. Post the success of s models Lakshmi Menon and Lisa Haydon, the alluring chocolate skin colour has caught the fancy of the catwalk. 90% of the successful run way girls worldwide are dusky . It takes one from mundane to exotic."

Waseem points to the lack of bad attitude as another reason.

Former model and ace choreographer Sheetal Sharma agrees with Waseem. Having worked with top Indian models, she observes that Bengaluru models possess the right attitude and are every designer's delight. Sheetal adds, "Bengaluru girls are different from the standard beautiful faces seen in Delhi and Mumbai. Unconventional exotic looks and raw talent puts these girls on high priority list. Moreover, the benchmark set by former Bengaluru models like Zulfi Syed, Lakshmi Menon and Vidisha Pavate reminds that the city produces great talent." Sheetal finds Dayana to be the most hardworking model and a star in the making today .

City model Rachel Bayros is already a name to reckon with. Rachel says, "Bengaluru is a small market. We have to put effort on every level and strive to excel is more. All Bengaluru models can style their own hair, make-up and catwalk. So, we rise as hardworking models and get picked up by elite agencies." Rachel attributes the success to the population of mixed races here. "It is not just about being South Indian. Due to its cosmopolitan nature, Bengaluru is home to people of mixed nationalities that gives rise to dramatic new looks and unique skin tones," feels Rachel. After scorching the top runways in India for a decade, Rachel is now a head-turner on the international fashion shores. "My career highlight is yet to come," she says. Success does not get to their crowning glories. Perhaps, it is this grounded nature that skyrockets Bengaluru girls to success in competitive fashion-dom.