Alpine cheekbones and a striking stage presence aren’t the only traits that set Anjali Lama apart from the sea of models at fashion week. She is also the first transgender model to ever walk professionally at a fashion week in India.
Born Navin Waiba to a farming family in Nuwakot, Nepal, Anjali’s story is a classic case of human ambition overcoming circumstances. Despite the backlash she faced when she came out in 2005, including her own family shutting her out, Anjali kept soldiering on until she landed the cover of ‘Voice of Women’ in 2009. “My friends told me I was not meant to be stuck in Nepal, that I should try to become an international supermodel,” she told us in her first-ever interview in India. While she was rejected in her first audition, Anjali used the judges’ feedback to effect a complete makeover, winning herself a spot on the Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2017 model roster.
As our digital cover girl for February’s #Ungender issue, she’s seven shades of happiness in this captivating fashion shoot.
Watch her prove all gender-related conventions wrong, one vibrant frame at a time.
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Anjali captivates one frame at a time:
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Photographs: Kapil Das; Styling: Nidhi Jacob; Hair and Make-Up: Daniel Bauer/Artist Factory; Model: Anjali Lama/Ftv Models India; Production: Parul Menezes; Assisted by: Divya Bavalia (Styling), Aneri Koradia (Production)
