Playing it safe
LSA nominee Fouzia Aman talks about her steady progress in the fashion industry and its double standards .
KARACHI:
A face that you see every now and then but a name which is not as celebrated as other divas around. Eleven years down her modeling career, Fouzia Aman bagged her first Lux Style Award (LSA)nomination this year. Proud of being chosen in the Best Female Model category but nervous about saying too much about the double standards of the industry, Aman opens up to The Express Tribune.
“Young girls initially get nervous, but you start enjoying it. What really matters is how your seniors help you out and if you can manage to make good friends in the industry. Seriously, that’s it.”
For Aman, modeling was an accidental profession. It wasn’t something she had always aspired to be. “For a common man, there is always a star-struck attitude towards acting. That’s how it was for me but I got my first break in the form of modeling and now that I have been around for some time, I hesitate in saying yes to acting offers.”
She may be declining all acting roles, however, in the future, the model does plan on starting either her own clothing line or may give her directorial skills a shot. She says that she wants make a documentary film, focusing on women’s rights.
Having said that, so far, the modeling career has served her well. From shooting for commercials, to being the showstopper on the ramp, she has don’t it all with ease and standing ovations. That is perhaps why she refuses to indulge in any conspiracy theory regarding the credibility of LSAs.
“Everybody has given their very best but one must not forget the adage, ‘Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.’ Finally whoever deserves to win it, will win it,” says Aman, seemingly in high spirits.
“Nothing is difficult. Initially, everything is, yes. But that’s only because at that time you are very nervous. Your level of confidence on the ramp defines you. Ramp modelling is definitely what I enjoy doing the most. So many people are looking at you live, this makes for a lot of great moments to see and to perform,” says the model.
As posing for the ideal portrait takes its time, Aman eased into opening up about the discriminatory attitude of the industry. Mind you, she is not talking about the favouritism that surrounds offering work to the people you know but its rather about giving work to the people you can communicate in English with.
“It’s a shame that it’s only in Pakistan that we have this prerequisite of how a model should be able to speak in English to be considered brilliant,” she sounded concerned. “Look at Paris Fashion Week and how French models, who are considered the finest in the world, only know their mother-tongue and can hardly speak a word of English. They only look at your presence and confidence,” says Aman.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 1st, 2014.
A face that you see every now and then but a name which is not as celebrated as other divas around. Eleven years down her modeling career, Fouzia Aman bagged her first Lux Style Award (LSA)nomination this year. Proud of being chosen in the Best Female Model category but nervous about saying too much about the double standards of the industry, Aman opens up to The Express Tribune.
“Young girls initially get nervous, but you start enjoying it. What really matters is how your seniors help you out and if you can manage to make good friends in the industry. Seriously, that’s it.”
For Aman, modeling was an accidental profession. It wasn’t something she had always aspired to be. “For a common man, there is always a star-struck attitude towards acting. That’s how it was for me but I got my first break in the form of modeling and now that I have been around for some time, I hesitate in saying yes to acting offers.”
She may be declining all acting roles, however, in the future, the model does plan on starting either her own clothing line or may give her directorial skills a shot. She says that she wants make a documentary film, focusing on women’s rights.
Having said that, so far, the modeling career has served her well. From shooting for commercials, to being the showstopper on the ramp, she has don’t it all with ease and standing ovations. That is perhaps why she refuses to indulge in any conspiracy theory regarding the credibility of LSAs.
“Everybody has given their very best but one must not forget the adage, ‘Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.’ Finally whoever deserves to win it, will win it,” says Aman, seemingly in high spirits.
“Nothing is difficult. Initially, everything is, yes. But that’s only because at that time you are very nervous. Your level of confidence on the ramp defines you. Ramp modelling is definitely what I enjoy doing the most. So many people are looking at you live, this makes for a lot of great moments to see and to perform,” says the model.
As posing for the ideal portrait takes its time, Aman eased into opening up about the discriminatory attitude of the industry. Mind you, she is not talking about the favouritism that surrounds offering work to the people you know but its rather about giving work to the people you can communicate in English with.
“It’s a shame that it’s only in Pakistan that we have this prerequisite of how a model should be able to speak in English to be considered brilliant,” she sounded concerned. “Look at Paris Fashion Week and how French models, who are considered the finest in the world, only know their mother-tongue and can hardly speak a word of English. They only look at your presence and confidence,” says Aman.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 1st, 2014.