Avanti Nagrath: first Indian model in history to open the Versace runway

Beauty with brain is saying and Avanti Nagrath has proved this line by becoming The first Indian model in history to open the Versace runway. Walking alongside supermodels like Gigi Hadid, Emily Ratajkowski and others, Delhi born Avanti Nagrath heads to Paris Fashion Week after wrapping up a headlining Milan.

The young model who has played muse for many celebrated Indian fashion houses, including Tarun Tahiliani, Manish Malhotra, Rahul Mishra, Lovebirds and more, is now making the international runway circuit with walking for shows like Bottega Veneta and Versace.

In the interview with Vogue India Avanti Nagrath mentioned that “It still feels like a dream when I think about it—even while I was walking the show it felt like a dream. There were so many models around, it was Bella Hadid. It was Gigi Hadid, and I’m the one opening the show?”

Avanti Nagrath was born in Delhi, India. With the support of her mother, She started modelling at the age of 15, Avanti was basketball player during her school days and she was also captain of her team but she chooses heels over sneakers.

Upon graduating in 2020, Nagrath was wanted to go abroad to economics school and continue modelling, but because Covid and a vaccination she was unable to go and in January 2022 when she was able to restart conversations with her agents. She then flew to Europe and immediately booked the Fall/Winter 2022 Versace show. For autumn/winter 2022, she go on to walk for Bottega Veneta in Milan, The Row, Coperni and Givenchy in Paris. Since then, she has also worked for Burberry, 1017 ALYX 9SM, Jacquemus, Chanel, Ferragamo, Courrèges, Hermès and Ralph Lauren, as well as the Alaïa Summer 2023 look-book, the Proenza Schouler White Label campaign and the Versace autumn/winter 2022-23 campaign.

Avanti Nagrath off-duty style is Comfortable and Tomboy a quick scroll through her Instagram reveals an aesthetic where racy meets tomboy: printed cargos with short tank tops, leather trousers with cropped shirts, baggy hoodies and ripped jeans amidst a strong smattering of saris. In the Interview with Vogue she mentioned that “I love wearing Jordans the most—I love any Nike sneakers. Whenever I’m working I’m in sneakers, in case people are like, ‘You’re too tall!’ So I rarely wear heels.” She has mentioned that She is still figuring out what her actual style is. She says that her style depends on the way she is feeling on particular day. She just love to be natural not to overdo and she wants to experiment with up-and-coming brands and Indian labels. 

Avanti Nagrath want to work with Indian brands and her dream is to take them abroad and show the people that there’s so much potential in the Indian industry in terms of fashion. Her goal, in a wardrobe sense, is to explore the Indian market and start building her wardrobe.”  Her vision is to be an Indian model representing India outside. She have that ambition of wanting to do something big.

Avanti Nagrath is a talented Indian model who made history by being the first Indian model to open the Versace Fall/Winter 2022 show. It's a significant achievement and a proud moment. She broke barriers and made her mark in the fashion industry. Avanti’s story is an inspiration to the fashion students who want to build there career in fashion Industry. Avanti's achievement is ray of hope for Indian future fashion students.

Author - Akriti Singh