In a special series, we will be sharing stories of Indian models and their journey. The first in the list is Zander Lama, who has his roots from Nepal and has been modelling in India for over a decade. In a tête-à-tête, the 28-year-old shares his initial days as a model and finding his feet during a time when there wasn’t any buzz around inclusivity in fashion and models were chosen on the basis of conventional beauty standard.
When Zander began his modelling journey in the year 2013, he faced several rejections because of his oriental features. There were a handful of model from the northeast or Nepal, who were doing good in showbiz. The opportunities were very less for someone like him as he was leaner than regular models who were a part of ramps back then. “As a newcomer, I had a tough time in finding work from designers because of my oriental features. My body type was also not considered ideal back then. My only strength was that I was flawless in my posing and gradually I saw brands started taking interest in me because of how I posed,” he says.

“Today, we are all up for diversity and inclusion in fashion and things are way easier than how it was for us. It is very easy to be a model now and there is no specific criteria to be a good model. It doesn’t matter how you look, how tall or short you are. All that matters is how confident you are about yourself and how well you can pose in front of the camera,” he adds.
After being a face of major brands and having walked for the biggest fashion designers in the country, Zander is now trying his hand in acting and is also planning to start his clothing line with his mother. Lama is also getting into shoot production.

When quizzed about what he thinks about the current lot of models entering the fashion scene, Zander says, “It is very important that they know how to pose like a pro and storm the runway. There are several agencies who are hiring models and getting them work, but these agencies are failing to groom them in the best possible way as they are only busy in hiring more talents so that they can mint more moolah.”

Zander has been a flagbearer of diversity and inclusivity in Indian fashion as he has been one of the first faces to represent models with oriental features in India.
Credits
Photographer: Sarang Gupta
Styling: Akshay Kaushal
Wardrobe: Two Point Two by Anvita Sharma
Shoes: Jeetinder Sandhu
Hair and makeup: Amita Juneja
Styling assistance: Diksha Chaudhary
Location: Araya Bagh New Delhi