Moni faces up to world of glamour

Parent Category: News and Stories
Posted in: Fashion n Modelling on Friday, 25 April 2008 00:00

The Indian beauty has jetted into Australia as a special guest model of Australian Fashion Week, following her recent signing to IMG Models, part of the company that owns AFW. Her modelling career has skyrocketed since she graced the cover of the launch issue of Vogue India along with five other supermodels.

Daria Werbowy, Shalom Harlow, Gisele Bundchen and Ward are among the models represented by IMG, the largest modelling agency in the world, and Dutta is hoping for similar success - starting in Australia.

"Being signed by IMG is like when you dream of something and you wait for years and years and then suddenly it's in your hands," she said.

"I am so excited but very stressed because it's my first show in Australia and I have to give 100 per cent."

The 22-year-old was discovered by IMG's women's development department head David Cunningham in India as part of a concerted campaign to add racial diversity to the company's roster of models. "Moni is so exotically beautiful, she's representing the new, more internationally reflective face of fashion," said Simon Lock, the founder of AFW and head of IMG Models and fashion Asia Pacific.

The new face of fashion is a direct response to the demands of global brands that want to penetrate the lucrative Asia Pacific markets such as India and China.

The new strategy dovetails with IMG's other interests in the Asia Pacific: it owns Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai, Luxury Week in Hong Kong, the Eco Style event in Kuala Lumpur and for the past three years has produced the Singapore Fashion Festival.