Size Matters

Apart from being a regular at fashion weeks,Bhandari is an aerobics instructor who runs a chain of fitness centres. “Look around you,do any of us look like size zero? We are all fit and healthy,” she says,while her contemporaries,Ford supermodel Anchal Oberoi,Femina Miss Bold 2009 Akanksha Yadav and ‘I am She’ finalist Divya Singh (all in town for the INIFD fashion show) step in to give their take on the debate — is size zero a reality?

“You should have caught us having lunch. It’s not just salad that we live on,” says model Akanksha Yadav who rubbishes claims that models don’t eat. “There’s a lot of hard work both on the ramp and off it. We have to constantly keep ourselves hydrated and well fed,” pitches in Divya Singh,adding how the glare of harsh lights,wearing high heels and long hours back stage can play havoc if one is not fit and fine. In what seems like a day of revelations,Singh admits to the fact that she rarely hits the gym. “Yes,most of us may be genetically blessed with high metabolism. But I am constantly on my feet and I eat everything including a fair share of desi sweets,” says Singh,who though lanky is not skinny thin.

“Even at the international stage,the trend towards being anorexic is dying out. In India,it never really caught on as Indian designers are well aware of the body types,” says model Anchal Oberoi who maintains a healthy diet that doesn’t involve zipping up the mouth ever. “It’s good to eat in moderation and if you are indulgent one day,then just work out a little more the next. That s how I work out,” says Oberoi who is lean and fit.

When it comes to Indian body types,well-known model and television host Shonal Rawat who stands tall at six feet is quick to point out: “There is no size zero,even Kareena isn’t so. It’s just a term the media has created to describe really thin people.” Rawat admits to eating all meals and saying no to crash dieting. “I am lucky to have a high metabolism rate but at the same time I am a mentally happy person and that’s what counts,” she says.

As far as the designers go,size zero is just a superlative figure. “At the end of the day,not just models but the public at large is our target audience,” says city-based fashion designer Simple Kaur who has her studio in Sector 35. Given the fact that the average Punjabi woman is well proportioned,her outfits cannot be exceptionally slender. According to city-based fashion merchandiser Kirat Randhawa the trend these days is to flaunt fab,well-toned bodies that look healthy and not sick. “One might have caught sickly thin models on a ramp in Milan but back home our girls are fleshy,well-endowed and in shape,” Randhawa sums up.