Meet India’s new ‘It’ girl Nidhi Sunil, the first Indian model to represent L’Oréal Paris and former lawyer taking on colourist beauty standards in the industry
- On the cover of Vogue India’s Women of the Year issue, Sunil is one of the most recognisable faces in the country with 120,000 Instagram followers
- She rose to fame by starring in Yo Yo Honey Singh’s Makhna video, which was the No 1 trending song on YouTube and Google at the time of its release
Over the past few years, India’s new “It” girl has taken on social media trolls and her industry colleagues alike when it comes to stringent beauty standards that favour lighter skin – experiences that have forged an unintentional path towards social justice activism.
Here’s everything you need to know about Sunil.
Rewiring the fashion world
In an interview with Brown Girl Magazine, Sunil spoke about her journey to becoming a social justice activist, saying it’s not a path she necessarily chose, but her personal experience as a dark-skinned model in the industry propelled her to share her story.
“Opportunities, even in Mumbai, were not available because of the colour of my skin or the way I looked,” Sunil told Brown Girl Magazine. “There is a standard of beauty in India that recognises fairer skin. I realised I had to just talk about this. Not because I wanted to start a revolution, but because I simply wanted to share my experiences.”
Dealing with trolls