The social disrespectability associated with modelling is old hat. Today intelligent young professionals are gravitating towards fashion/product modelling to reap instant fame and fortune
Glamorous fashion ramps and catwalks are no longer the preserve of classroom back-benchers or those disinclined to do nine-to-five jobs. Today, intelligent young professionals are gravitating towards fashion and product modelling to reap instant fame, and perhaps fortune.
In recent times much of the social disrespectability associated with product and fashion modelling has become old hat and increasingly, a growing number of youth of both sexes are opting for modelling as a career. More so with rising consumerism in middle class India post the liberalisation and deregulation of the economy in 1991, and expansion of the media. The simultaneous coming of age of India’s fashion industry has generated continuous demand for fresh faces and svelte figures, to launch and promote an array of branded products and designer collections of aspiring young fashion designers.
Models tend to focus on ramp or live modelling; photographic (fashion) and product modelling for the print and electronic media.
Live/ramp modelling. Youth of both sexes who can sashay gracefully down catwalks and face crowds confidently are best suited for this job. Poise and carriage are vital prerequisites. Live/ramp models may also be offered photography assignments.
Photographic fashion modelling. These models usually work within the confines of a studio and sometimes on location. They freelance most of the time, as there are hardly any fashion houses employing models full-time in India.
Product/brand promotion modelling. This genre of models feature in press advertisements, posters, in television commercials and advertising films. Television commercials are usually shot in studios with a team comprising the director, cameramen, technicians, etc. Models may be contracted for a particular brand or may freelance. Today, the most successful models work in all fields including catwalks, commercials, videos and pose for fashion magazines and ad campaigns.
No specific qualifications are required of fashion or product models who usually learn on the job, although some training schools have been promoted by former models in Delhi and Mumbai. The main attributes required of aspirant models are good health and complexion, lustrous hair, height of over 5'7'' for females and 6 ft-plus for males. Of course, a photogenic personality is the single most important prerequisite. Apart from this, knowing the basics of acting, camera-friendliness and self-confidence are also valuable qualifications.
Being a fiercely competitive and short shelf-life profession with high-stress and erratic working hours, successful models are generously remunerated for their pains, and can earn a fortune within a few years. Depending on experience and popularity for a one ad campaign shoot, a model can earn between Rs.50,000-300,000, and anywhere from Rs.20,000-50,000 per fashion show. Moreover, although a model’s career span is seldom more than five years, the more successful ones sail smoothly into fashion design, films, television shows, choreography and events management.
Statuesque Konkona Bakshi (19), who has already bagged trophies and titles at three international beauty pageants is the hot new model on the scene, with several ad campaigns and catwalk contracts under her belt. She’ll be soon walking the ramp for top-deck designers at the forthcoming Lakme Fashion Week scheduled to be held in October in Mumbai.
Bakshi took her first hesitant steps on the catwalk while still in school, when she was chosen to participate in the Glad Rags Supermodel Contest 2005, and adjudged among the top five. From then on, there was no looking back. In the Miss World Contest held in Malaysia in the same year, she bagged the Miss Talented and Miss Personality titles. The doors of the modelling world opened for and her career took off with a prestigious Bombay Dyeing ad campaign.
“A career in modelling is no longer infra dig and today you have a large number of upper class boys and girls walking the ramp. However breaking into this field is not easy. You have to be in the right place at the right time and seize the small first opportunities that come your way. There are times when you are flooded with assignments, and often there’s a lull, which suits me fine as it gives me time to attend my BA English literature classes at Sophia College, Mumbai from where I’ll graduate in 2009. Graduation is advisable, although not a necessary requirement for the profession,” says Bakshi.
Since moving to Mumbai in 2007, her diary has been full of assignment dates for beauty pageants and ramp appearances. In January 2008, she walked tall as the India representative among participants from all over the world at an international beauty contest in Egypt, where she was adjudged the ‘Top Model of the Asian Continent’. In May she was selected to represent India at a Miss Leisure World Contest 2008 in Shanghai, where she was ranked eighth out of 76 participants.
Indra Gidwani (Mumbai)