Introduction

Indian Models are known worldwide for their appeal and style. Modelling in India is one of the most fascinating career options and extremely popular among youngsters. Intense struggle and hard work lies in the foundation of making a successful model. Indian Models glimpse modelling as a career to achieve more fame and money with a great way of life. Indian beauties are crowned at Miss Universe and Miss World shows and other fashion shows.

History of Indian Modelling

Indian fashion industry is in a state of flux and has come of age. A common structure of Indian fashion derived from Western culture. Larger revival movement in Indian textile industry was done by Kolkata-based designer and textile print-expert Ritu Kumar. She started to work on refreshing the traditional hand block printing techniques of West Bengal, and making it an element of the Indian fashion industry. She showcased the "Zardozi" embroidery in her piece of clothing, which had its sources in the royal costumes of Mughal era. This led to the renewal of this vanished art.

Over the years, popular Bollywood trends have been in Indian fashion industry. In 1986, the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India opened the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) in Delhi, with the help of the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York. It plays an imperative role in bringing in the trained fashion designers and Indian Models. In 1998 the Fashion Design Council of India was established, which later on started the Indian Fashion Week in Delhi, to encourage the designers and models.

Indian Male Models

With a constant mushrooming market for men"s fashion, grooming and styling in India, the emergence of more and more male models has been witnessed in the country. While most models migrate to movies as is the norm and ambition of many, some continue to shine on the ramp and print and electronic media.

Milind Soman: Milind Soman is an Indian supermodel, fitness promoter, actor and producer in films. He started modeling in 1988. He featured in Alisha Chinai"s music video "Made in India" in 1995. In the mid 90s after some time working as a model, he donned the lead role in the Indian science fiction TV Series "Captain Vyom", before foraying into acting in several Hindi films. Soman is a fitness enthusiast and promoter. In May 2012, he became a Limca Record holder for running 1500 kilometres in 30 days for Greenathon, to spread environmental awareness. The same year, the country`s largest women`s only running event Pinkathon was set up under his guidance, to promote good health and breast cancer awareness.

Muzammil Ibrahim : Muzammil Ibrahim is an Indian model and actor who has featured in several music videos, like "Pyaar Sirf Tumse" by Lucky Ali and A. R. Rahman"s "Aa Bhi Jaa" from the album "Raunaq". His portfolio boasts of numerous fashion shows for international and national designers. He has won several fashion awards as a model. He made his film debut in Mahesh Bhatt"s "Dhokha", played the lead role of ACP Zaid Ahmed Khan, which garnered him critical acclaim.

Sahil Shroff: Sahil Shroff is an Indian model who has done TV commercials for HCL, Tata Indica, Lux and Cadbury`s Eclairs, and walked for designers like Manish Malhotra, Vikram Phadnis, Narendra Kumar and J. J. Valaya. He made his Bollywood debut playing the role of Arjun in Farhan Akhtar`s "Don 2: The King is Back".

Freddy Daruwala: Freddy Daruwala was discovered by a popular men"s magazine and has been into modeling since 2007. He was the runner-up in the 2007 Mr. India World competition. Sporting a lean physique, he stands tall at a tad over six feet. He made his film debut in 2014 Hindi action thriller "Holiday" playing the Sleeper Cells" head.

Prateik Jain : Prateik Jain is an Indian model and winner of Mr. India World 2014. He represented India at Mister World 2014, finishing in the Top 10. In 2015, he won Asian Supermodel Contest held in China, becoming the first Indian to do so.

Hrishant Goswami : Hrishant Goswami is an Indian model who won the Gladrags Manhunt in 2004. He is also known for his participation in popular Indian reality show "Bigg Boss 4".

Indian Female Models

Indian Female Models are the pillars of Indian fashion. Nafisa Joseph, Carol Gracias, Natasha Suri, Sheetal Mallar, Lisa Ray, Gul Panag and many more form the array of Indian female models who have immense contribution in the fashion arena of the country and have bestowed numerous unique yet charming visages to the world of fashion. Their beauty and charisma have earned them recognition not only at national but also at international level where they have left their everlasting footprints.

Natasha Suri : Natasha Suri is the former Pond`s Femina Miss India- World who has carved a niche of her own due to her innate poise, grandeur and beauty. For Natasha Suri, fashion is just the extension of oneself or rather the inner self of one. She has the radiant beauty, charisma and personality needed to be a movie starlet or pinup girl.

Sarah Jane Dias : Sarah Jane Dias is another iconic model whose very presence is a statement amidst the Indian fashion scenario. She is an Indian model and actor whose journey from ramp to the glamorous world of the movie industry is noteworthy. She is a woman of substance, a mixture of beauty with brains.

Jesse Randhawa : Apart from being a successful model, Jesse Randhawa is also an actress, dancer, yoga expert and a trained pilot. She has worked with many fashion designers and has crossed the snarled threshold of inchoate Indian fashion industry to consign her spoor around the world. She appeared in Femina Miss India 1994 contest along with Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and made it to finalists. Adding appliques to her spell, she turned out to be the first Indian as the face of Levis jeans London. Such was her versatile allure that she was nick named as the multi faceted trend setter from India by various international modelling agencies.

Nayonika Chatterjee : Nayonika Chatterjee dubbed as the Naomi Campbell of India rules the ramp as she has made her presence felt on the ramp for many years now. Ruling the ramp for 21 years now, she still continues to be the sizzling queen. Originally from Kolkata and brought up in Mumbai, she currently resides in Delhi. To her own credit she has the Airtel commercial where she shared screen space with Shahrukh Khan and the Close-Up commercial among the many she has done so far. A stretch of several years in the modelling field, doing press ads, music videos, commercials and walking the runway at national and international ramps has been the witness of her journey. She appears in one of the lead roles in the Hindi film `Fashion`. It was directed by Madhur Bhandarkar and starred Priyanka Chopra, Kangna Ranaut and Arbaaz Khan alongside her. She received loads of praise for her performance and in her debut she has made a sensational mark. She reached the semi-finals and won the Miss Perfect Ten title. After that she moved to Mumbai and started modelling.

Carol Gracias : Carol Gracias belongs to a Christian community of India namely the Goan Catholic community. She has an enchanting persona that almost makes it impossible for many to accept as true that this model from Bandra, Mumbai, has had a career spanning over 10 years now in the globe of glitz and glamour. She won over the fashion alliance with her catchy gusto, fortitude, determination and strength of mind and soon the designers were vying for her to be in their shows. Her charming complexion commands and reciprocates admiration whenever she struts down the runaway. She showed the world her professionalism with the way she handled her wardrobe malfunction. Till date her presence in any show adds glamour and glitz to it.

Monikangana Dutta : Monikangana Dutta is tall, dusky and enigmatically beautiful, who used to be a Kingfisher calendar girl. She rose to the status of supermodel with her amazing figure and confident looks. After her schooling, Monikangana Dutta moved to New Delhi for higher studies where she participated in the Metropolitan Top Model Contest. That was a big turning point in her life and then there was no turning back for her.

Lisa Ray : Lisa Ray thrives to be the international face of modelling who has gifted modelling a stature by the means of her aesthetic sense. Lisa Ray is an Indian model, actress and social activist, who is in actuality a cross-cultural phenomenon, an internationally acclaimed performer, philanthropist and star with a reputation for taking on challenging issue-oriented films.

Gul Panag : Gul Panag is an Indian actress, voice actress, model and former beauty queen who competed in the Miss Universe pageant. She is definitely someone who has a fantasy to take the road less travelled, making her own path. Her notable films include "Dor", "Dhoop", "Manorama Six Feet Under", "Hello and Straight". She has elements other than just glamour, which bring dynamism and vibrancy to her demeanour. She is known for holding a firm opinion and not shying away from voicing it.

Shree Saini : Indian-American model cum dancer, Shree Saini has been crowned Miss India Worldwide 2018 at a pageant held in the Fords City of New Jersey. It was organised by the New York-based India Festival Committee (IFC), the pageant is said to be the oldest and largest event for the Indian Diaspora community.

Radhika Nair : Malayali born, Radhika Nair is the first Indian fashion model to have walked for Demna Gvasalia Balenciaga SS17 show in Paris. She is also an Indian classically trained singer of the Rajas. Radhika has made her appearance at Vetements, Miu Miu, Loewe, Etro, Mulberry and JW Anderson.

Renee Kujur : With an uncanny resemblance to the international R&B singer Rihanna, Indian model Renee Kujur was felicitated by Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) at 2018 India Couture Week gala.

There is a plethora of other Indian female models some of whom have branched out and ventured into acting. Some of these examples would be Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Anushka Singh, Nidhi Sunil, Gayatri Mahanta, Sushmita Sen, Bipasha Basu and etc.