Vogue India has just celebrated its tenth anniversary – ten of years of runway fashion, ten years of fresh-faced models, ten years of graceful actresses and eminent figures, ten years of the Indian arm of this iconic, global brand… and who do they put on the cover? Kendall Jenner. It leaves me questioning yet again – are we ever going to be enough?
Beautiful pictures, yes… great idea? Not so much. I don’t have anything against Kendall Jenner, I don’t know enough about her and what she does to have an opinion about her – what I do have something against though, is having her - a non-Indian, who has nothing to do with India in fact (for example, she has never been in a Bollywood film, and has never even publicly toured India) - on the cover of a milestone edition of an Indian style magazine.
Of course, multiculturalism does go both ways – if we want all cultures, including models of Indian ethnicity, to be featured on the cover of global magazines, then we too should follow suit. However – a cover as iconic as a 10th anniversary for the Indian arm of a globally known fashion magazine, should feature an Indian.
It’s almost like the editors of Vogue India forgot that brown girls still exist. They asked Kendall to grace the cover of the magazine, forgetting about the incredible Indian women who are doing empowering things both nationally and globally. They forgot about Priyanka Chopra, and the waves she has made in the States; they disregarded Deepika Padukone who just starred in her debut Hollywood flick; where was Sonam Kapoor, the woman who has redefined style and become an icon for Indian and Western fashion? What about one generation up – Aishwariya Rai, who has been dubbed the most beautiful woman in the world on numerous occasions, by the likes of even Oprah? If they desperately wanted an international star – we have many talented NRI ladies that are far stronger role models than the Kardashians and Jenners: see Lilly Singh (aka Superwoman), or Nimrat Kaur. And if you are that keen on a non-Indian, then meet us halfway and have the likes of Katrina Kaif sashay her way on to the cover (by the by, she was featured in the edition – but did not make the cover)! If nothing else – put 10 iconic Indian women on the cover on the 10th anniversary!
That is just the list of famous faces – what about our aspiring models, working tirelessly to make their name stand out in the competitive world of Indian fashion?
On another level, and something that bothered me considering I am an obviously brown-skinned girl, is that we claim to be trying to combat these old-school, backwards notions of beauty about the fairer skinned girls being more attractive than darker skinned girls… and then Vogue India puts an Anglo-Saxon on the cover of a milestone edition? On one hand, you try to tell us how ridiculous these ‘Fair and Lovely’ ads are, and that colour does not define beauty… and you put a ‘gori’ on the front page? Bit unsure what you’re trying to tell us with that…
We try to empower our girls – we tell them not to see the shade of their skin, we tell them to continue their education, we encourage them to pursue their passions with fire in their stomachs… and then in one swift motion, one not-so-well thought out decision… we bring them down. We subconsciously make them question whether they are good enough, and whether if anything they do will ever be enough.
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