The Indian Fashion Brand Using Transgender Models
A woman fashion designer in India is breaking all stereotypes by making transgender women pose for her latest collection. Cochin based designer, Sharmila Nair, just got her latest line of sarees modelled by two transgender women and the results are stunning.
Nair runs the brand ‘Red Lotus’ that designs sarees in hubli cotton that are dyed with bold colours and paired with printed blouses. She was inspired to take the exceptional move after the Kerala government emphasized on equal rights and opportunities to the transgender community.
The designer contacted ‘Queerela’ that works for the rights of the LGBT community. The organisation introduced her to Maya Menon and Gowri Savithri, who later became the models for Red Lotus.
The 29-year-olds were sceptical about the opportunity in the beginning but as the shoot started they got thrilled. Nair discloses how she faced a lot of difficulty in choosing the shoot location because her models were transgender. Her make-up artist also failed to show-up for the obvious reasons.
Nair says that people ridiculed her calling her efforts just a ‘publicity stunt’. Her friends also didn’t support her. But with the support of her family, her husband and with her strong determination she finally chose a beautiful church in Cochin for the shoot. Nair, who was equally excited to work with the models said, “They are very creative, and really put their heart and soul into the shoot."
When she first approached the women, they were dressed as men with shirts and pants. The designer reveals that it took some time for them to come up as women dressed in sarees and once they did they looked gorgeous.
Both the models loved wearing sarees and were comfortable in front of the camera.
Photos of both the muses are going viral in the social media and the designer believes that this will open up better opportunities for the community. Both Menon and Savithri are college graduates and unemployed. Nair’s unique effort to break the conventional notions of beauty is winning hearts and the brand has seen sales shoot up since the launch of the collection.
Source : http://daily.bhaskar.com/news/TOP-transgender-women-models-5333963-PHO.html?seq=5
