5 young models who’re challenging India’s beauty prejudices

Naomi Junamala

Her gawky beauty and frizzy curls frame the season’s cool black metallic lip. Push beyond red and bordeaux with onyx, charcoal, silver and navy blue.

Urvashi Umrao

Delicate and birdlike, she downplays her perfections with messy hair. Take a cue from the Prada show where models owned unwashed, rumpled manes—even the fine strands. Load up on texture spray, play up the kinks and add a liquid gleam to get that post-nap-with-wet-hair look.

Velvet dress, Marks & Spencer. Metal chains, Amrapali.

Meenakshi Rathore

Her strong jaw is set off to stunning effect with serpentine curves you can’t ignore. Wear the finger waves from Marc Jacobs around your crown and leave the back loose or make a statement with a slick marcel wave.

Metal rings, all Amrapali.

meenakshirathore

Ritu Chauhan

All sharp angles, she makes the colour red more punk than sexy. Thanks to Chanel’s fall make-up collection, everyone’s wearing red on the eyes—smudged on the lids or waterline, this look is slightly off-centre but on-point.

Krithika Iyer 

Her rounded features are the perfect foil for increasingly graphic liner—think temple-grazing cat-eyes, cheekboneslashing thin lines and multicoloured curly edges. Throw in metallic eyeshadow if you really want to turn heads.

Septum rings, stylist’s own.

Dismiss convention and embrace eccentricity. The idea of beauty is going through a major transformation. Flip through the gallery above to meet the fresh flock of models who are ushering in an era of individuality and challenging what we believe is beautiful.

Photographs: Aneev Rao. Hair and make-up: Elton Fernandez. Styling: Pasham Alwani.

(From left) On Iyer:  Beaded dress, Atsu. Metal earrings, Accessorize. On Chauhan: Lace bodysuit, H&M. Metal earrings, Accessorize. On Umrao: Lace dress, Marks & Spencer. Metal earrings, Accessorize. On Janumala:  Cotton and wool blend dress, Rahul Mishra. Metal earrings, The Line. On Rathore: Polyester gown, Gaurav Gupta.