BENGALURU: If there’s one campaign that has been making heads turn in recent times, it’s the MAC Cosmetics’ one. More so, because it features Bengaluru girl Prarthana Jagan, who makes a bold statement about vitiligo. Jagan’s face is now part of the new campaign along with brand ambassador and Bollywood actor Bhumi Pednekar.The journey has been far from easy for 24-year-old Jagan, who is trying to break the glass ceiling in the world of modelling. At the age of 20, she made her first stop at Prasad Bidapa Model Management and by the next year, she was signed on by a modelling agency in Delhi.
The ‘vitiligo model’ as she’s often referred to, is unperturbed by stray comments around her condition. “I, honestly, don’t mind that tag. At the end of the day, it’s who I am...vitiligo is just one of my characteristics that perhaps sets me apart from others,” she says oozing with confidence. “Canadian fashion model Winnie Harlow changed that notion for the world when she joined America’s Next Top Model as a contestant in 2014. So by the time I came into the industry, there was more acceptance and opportunities for work,” says Jagan, who studied at The Frank Anthony Public School, and completed her engineering from Ramaiah Institute Of Technology in 2020.
While shooting for MAC, Jagan got to meet the other faces featured in the campaign — makeup artists Sukhmani Suri and Navreet Josan, YouTube star Ankush Bahuguna and transgender model Anjali Lama. “Pednekar’s part was shot separately. But it still feels good to have been a part of this,” says Jagan, who also works as a content and marketing strategist for a cosmetics company in Bengaluru.
Having been featured in jewellers advertisements and editorials, Jagan isn’t considering taking up modelling as a full-time career. “I’ve been modelling since college and it’s become a side hustle now. I like to multitask. That’s why I create content online, and work with various brands which keep my creative juices flowing,” she says, adding that Bengaluru has fewer opportunities compared to other cities. “I usually get flown to these places for projects but Bengaluru has very few gigs like that. You can build your contacts and talk to as many people out there, but if you want to get paid for your work, other cities are better.”
Jagan is very clear about where she sees herself in the next five years, “hustling harder than ever before to make it to a 30 under 30 category. “This has been on my vision board for as long as I can remember. I want to do everything that will help me get there; we’ll see what happens after that,” she says.