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Rising South and Southeast Asian faces DARA ALLEN, DIPTI SHARMA & ANISHA SANDHU on breaking traditional modelling standards and how their relationship with beauty has evolved.
LEFT TO RIGHT
Dara and Anisha, top MELITTA BAUMEISTER; Dipti, top TIBI
2020 has been a dramatic year, to say the least. The upheaval caused by the pandemic and the tragic death of George Floyd has sparked a radical rethinking of the entire ecosystem of our society. Anything and everything has been called into question; nothing is too sacred as to be above examination – including the glorified world of high fashion.
The fashion season has to adapt, and brands have responded to growing calls to commit to diversity. Now, more than ever, it’s important to uplift voices of colour. Here, we speak to three successful models of colour – DARA ALLEN, DIPTI SHARMA and ANISHA SANDHU– about their modelling careers, diversity, beauty and self-confidence.
necklace LUZORTIZ
INTERVIEWER KAY LEAN LEONG
PHOTOGRAPHER JASON KIM
STYLIST XUYUNER (ABBY) QI
“By sharing my story, so many girls reached out to me to say that they have now decided to pursue modelling and that they found the courage to face their parents and conservative Indian society.”
blazer TIBI
DARA ALLEN
Dara Allen wasn’t certain that she would be walking Fashion Week until she actually stepped into the Armoury at New York’s Park Avenue. “I had a phone call out of nowhere,” she says the moment the Marc Jacobs team asked her to come in for a casting session. Reflecting on the time, she says: “I had never been to a casting before, I didn’t know what I was doing – they even had another girl teach me how to walk – I had no clue how the process went, I just went along with it.”
Despite her uncertainty, she made waves. The eventual strut down the runway, decked in a shearling jacket and knit dress, made such an impression that it prompted a Vogue profile of her. How does an unsigned model get a Vogue feature on the back of a single runway show? Just ask Dara Allen.
top MELITTA BAUMEISTER and earrings J. HARDYMENT
With training as a fashion journalist, Allen has always loved fashion and worked as a styling assistant before becoming a model. As a trans model of colour, she views fashion as a space for creative play. “Creating beauty and glamour is so much fun for me, and I think it’s important that I represent something beyond myself, beyond my culture and my gender, that I’m not limited to only representing aspects of my identity. What we represent is more than who we are at face value,” she says.
Her nuanced understanding of fashion’s potential definitely bleeds into her philosophy of beauty and life. “Beauty can’t tick boxes. It’s not a formula or about having this or that,” she declares. Allen offers this bit of advice: “Question everything. Don’t accept the story that you think you have to live by, or the rules made by someone else. It’s about showing compassion for yourself.
DIPTI SHARMA
Although she’s worked with household fashion names like Michael Kors and Balenciaga’s Lotta Volkova, in addition to being profiled by Vogue, Dipti Sharma’s modelling journey hasn’t been the easiest. From a conservative Indian background which didn’t consider modelling to be a viable livelihood, Sharma struggled to break her career choice to her family.
Despite the circumstances, it worked out in the end. Today, she remains an inspiration to many Indian girls who dream of modelling. “By sharing my story,” she says. “So many girls reached out to me to say that they have now decided to pursue modelling and that they found the courage to face their parents and conservative Indian society.”
top MELITTA BAUMEISTER and earrings ALEXANDER MCQUEEN
While she is no stranger to challenges – “dealing with the extreme industry pressures was a tough learning curve!” – Sharma is positive when it comes to the future of the industry. She says that over the past few years, the industry has been making strides towards inclusivity, hiring more models from India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka: “Representation matters. I’m glad that we are now being taken more seriously.”
Part of what helps her deal with the challenges she has faced is her spirituality, which is built into her strong self-care philosophy. She meditates and surrounds herself with positivity, but says that “it’s important to remember that no one can define your self-worth except you.”
top MELITTA BAUMEISTER and trousers TIBI
Ultimately, it is this sense of cool self-assuredness and kindness to herself and the people around her that allows her to survive in this competitive industry. She concludes: “Being humble, kind and loving to everyone you come across in life will always reflect your inner and outer personality. I find it beautiful when you can feel content and positive about your choices.”
ANISHA SANDHU
Growing up in the Canadian city of Kingston, Anisha Sandhu never envisioned herself as a model. Standing at a statuesque height of 1.8 metres tall, she has a chiselled bone structure and full, searching brown eyes. “I wasn’t very confident as a kid, and I never really felt like I could do modelling,” she admits. Looking at her, it’s difficult not to think she would become a model.
Following a brief dabble in school fashion clubs and some encouragement from her friends, Sandhu approached a local agency, and to her surprise, was signed on the spot. Six months later, she signed with The Society Management in New York City, where she is now based. Since then, she’s walked for Prabal Gurung and Phillip Lim, and has shot with i-D’s Alastair McKimm. An avid follower of the magazine since her youth, she smiles brightly when she recalls the memory, calling it “a dream come true”.
Still, forging a livelihood in a cutthroat industry where your worth is determined by your looks and the imposing high beauty standards is incredibly challenging. “It’s really important to know your worth,” she says. “This is my livelihood, but it isn’t the end-all or be all.”
How would she like to see the industry change? Although she has had nothing but positive experiences, she thinks brands still have a long way to go when it comes to truly representing diversity.
And as part of a growing cadre of models of colour, she believes she can be a part of that change: “There’s no need to fit ourselves into a box. We live in an interesting time where we can change the standards in our industry. No one wants to see someone who is curated or contrived – so be yourself.”
The full cover story and interview was published in the print issue The WOW N° 4.
PHOTOGRAPHER: JASON KIM @ ART DEPARTMENT
STYLIST: XUYUNER (ABBY) QI
HAIR: ROMINA MANENTI @ HOME AGENCY
MAKE-UP: AYAMI NISHIMURA @ STATEMENT ARTISTS
CASTING DIRECTOR: DAVID CHEN
PRODUCER: TED COPELAND @ ART DEPARTMENT
DIGITAL TECH: DREW ST IVANY
PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANTS: JAMES CLARK & TYLER KUFS
STYLIST ASSISTANT: JOAO
HAIR ASSISTANT: DREW MARTIN
MODELS: DARA ALLEN @ HEROES MODELS, ANISHA SANDHU @ SOCIETY MANAGEMENT & DIPTI SHARMA @ KOLLEKTIV MGMT