Anita has started her career when she was only 9 years old, starting from her mother’s fashion design house and now all the way to New York City. Anita has always had a passion for modeling since a young age, it was always her dream. At the age of 16, Anita has decided to go visit New York by herself in search of an agency. As soon as Anita finished her placement in Hong Kong, she has headed to the United States looking for a placement, minding that a tourist visa is not easy to get for a Russian citizen.
“Coming to America was always a dream for me. It was something that was a fantasy ever since”
Once Anita has arrived to New York for the first time, it was definitely not what she has expected. At least, not what she has seen in the movies. Obviously, it was not easy in the Big Apple. Her mother agency, Jems Ltd had organized multiple appointments with agencies in the city and it has occurred that a visa was an issue for most of them. No one wanted to sponsor or take the responsibility of an international model at that stage. There were strange offers on the table or agencies asking to lose even more weight. But that never stopped Anita. It was in 2016 that she arrived to New York City for the first time. She has done everything she could during that stay but it didn’t work out from the first try. In 2017, Anita was working with City Models in Paris and during Fashion Week, she worked with an American brand Monse which she currently still works for. During her stay in Paris, she got scouted by an agent from EMG Models NYC in Paris and it was such a happy coincidence. It was like the jackpot for her all at once and EMG Models signed her straight away. They started working on her papers right away to come to NYC for Fashion Week and other possible gigs.
Anita’s parents met in India and divorced when she was 3 years old. She grew up with a single working mother in Dubai and she has one brother and a sister. Her mother is a business woman and the situation with her father is complicated. She is a pure feminist and she believes in the women power. They can definitely build their own empire. Unfortunately, due to growing up with a single mother, a father icon does not exist for Anita. She loves to help people and she would like to get involved into charity later in her life. She wants to make this statement an interview about her, but also a story for those who think that they should ever give up. She wants to be a role model and make sure that people do not lose hope in themselves, no matter what they do.
“I want to emphasize on this story for the girls who are really talented and who truly want to become a model, that nothing is impossible. It might take a hundred falls before we actually stand up, and yes it took me time to reach where I am now . I never thought I could be on models.com; for some models it just happens while some really need to work hard. I have been to Milan as well at the very beginning of my career and I have done a couple of shows such as Mario Dice, Rocco Barroco and Capucci but I am thinking to try again eventually. At the end of the day, I am only 22 years old. If we take one step at a time, we could reach all the goals we want to. Maybe this is just the start for me. No matter how many times I’m going to fall again, I will make sure that all these years of my youth will count and will be something to remember.”
What does modelling means to you?
Modeling means to me art, creativity, ability to build a confidence, go past all your insecurities. You become an inspiration for a lot by the art that you give, the lessons that you can teach as a role model. When people ask me how did I become a model, did I have to learn any skills? I think it is something that I had talent for since a very young age, I was always passionate about it and now it is my full time profession in combination with my business management degree which is currently in progress.
Have you ever felt pressured into looking a certain way?
I would not say pressured, it’s something that you realize as a model as you start to work more with the industry. As a model, you understand that clients always want something special or different, you have to stand out as a model from the other batch that comes into the casting. I know some models are sometimes forced to color their hair or go through plastic surgery for their face but I kind of did it myself. No one ever told me to look a certain way, it’s just the more I went to castings, the more I looked at my competitors. I understood that I needed to cut my hair shorter, maybe emphasize more on my eyebrows and embrace my half Indian. I was told by a couple of agents to go through a rhinoplasty and I am still thinking about it but I am afraid it will change my uniqueness. I tried a different solution which was fillers; they do non-surgical rhinoplasty now to even out the bits and I am happy so far. Let’s see where my career takes me, but surely I am 100% more confident now in front of video cameras and so.
What’s been your career highlight to date?
I can’t be precise with a date but highlight years are 2016 and 2018.
How do you feel about terms such as “plus size” and “in betweenie”?
Well, as I am a typical model, I still pass for a bit of commercial but mostly I am not that typical commercial girl therefore for me a change in the industry and the key term diversity is only to my own benefit. I am totally with plus size as it’s time the industry starts to accept all kinds of sizes and ethnicities as they need to start relating to regular, ordinary people who are not 6 feet tall and a size 0. For instance, this year Paris Fashion Week used in a couple of shows plus size models which was amazing for Paris. Paris is the most hypocritical when it comes to models and how they are supposed to look during the fashion weeks. I really hope there will be a change for the haute couture as every other model is a blonde, blue eyed girl but what about the other ethnicities such as Middle Eastern, mixed Asian girls?
What changes have you seen within the industry over the years?
Huge changes such as diversity, that’s why I work quite well in New York because it’s all about diversity at the moment which other markets are getting to. It was definitely not like that when I started modeling in 2015 especially in Milan, therefore this coming season I am going to try to go to Milan and see how it will be for me as I have a totally different look since the day I started.
What changes would you like to see moving forward?
I would really like to see more of the diversity movement as it helps a lot of unordinary girls become a real talent in the market.
How do you feel about things like diversity within the industry?
As I mentioned before, I absolutely love it. I want to see different faces on the runway; I don’t want to see 50 girls who all look the same, what’s interesting about that? Like Varsha Thapa, she is absolutely beautiful to me and I really want designers and big fashion houses to start using more and more of diverse girls. It has become a dead end for classic beauty, I believe there is much more in the world than just being perfect and beautiful.
You have a lot of fans on social media, why do you think people are drawn to you?
I think a lot of my followers like to see my work, my daily routine and of course all the traveling and work I do. Some get inspired to do something bigger for themselves, take me as an example and admire my unique beauty.
What are some things you dislike/hate about the fashion industry?
I hate how ’till today a lot of the bigger campaigns or jobs still look for perfect beauty, how models are always judged upon their appearance. That’s why in New York, you have a chance to show your personality, to talk to the clients, get booked not only for your beauty but for who you are. Unlike cold hearted Paris, where you have no word at a casting, just coming to another casting like the other hundred girls that day.
