As global power and trends ebb and flow, citizens are keeping track of the rise of the East and in India, the fashion industry is following suit.
When it comes to the eastern and north-eastern parts of the country, fragmented news stories–often viewed from a negative lens–have alienated groups from the region from truly being seen. They are often underrepresented and suffer from a lack of opportunities, especially in sectors such as entertainment and the arts.
With the rise of homegrown modeling agencies, Gina Narang, founder of A Little Fly (ALF), has established a space in the Indian fashion landscape for an agency with a fresh perspective on the changing nature of the idea of Indian beauty.
Asu for Kay Beauty
Khup S Hangsing is represented by Gina Narang's A Little Fly (ALF)
Marathon for Uniqlo
“An understanding of the vastness of what ‘Indian origin’ means is opening up not just in the country but internationally as well. In the past, many agencies abroad may not have been completely aware of how extensive the qualities found in India alone can be. Today, I do see that [an] awareness and responsiveness to understanding who we are as a total race is opening up,” says Narang, while speaking on the international scope and presence of models from the regions of eastern and north-eastern India.
Delving further into the impact of representation with regard to casting for brands, Narang adds, “Without sugar-coating it, we still do receive inquiries asking for a “chinky” (a derogatory term used for people with east Asian features) model. We still do sometimes, receive backlash when sending out rosters and clients come back saying, ‘I said I only wanted Indian models’. We have been fortunate enough to be in a position to be able to correct clients in these cases but long story short, we don't entertain such inquiries.”
“NEGATIVE FACTORS ASIDE, TODAY, WE DO SEE BIGGER BRANDS WANTING TO WORK WITH TALENT FROM THE NORTH-EAST FOR THEIR CAMPAIGNS BECAUSE THEY SEE A GOOD MODEL, AND NOT A MERE TOKEN FOR REPRESENTATION.”Gina Narang
Narang is, however, excited about the increasing demand for more inclusive storytelling and campaigns. “Negative factors aside, today, we do see bigger brands wanting to work with talent from the north-east for their campaigns because they see a good model, and not a mere token for representation. What makes us most excited is when traditional Indian wear labels want to work with north-eastern talent because a girl from Nagaland is Indian”.
The changing face of Indian beauty is also intertwined with the rise of social media. The commonplace camera phone seems to have democratised fashion, to an extent. You do not need to be six feet tall to have six million followers today.