Doing the catwalk around the world
In conversation with the promising model Shaon
Kavita Charanji
"Having walked the ramps of Paris and Milan, why not New York as well?" questions gutsy model and VJ Tabassum Shaon on a visit to Dhaka from Mumbai. She refers to a three-year contract offer from Ikon New York Model Management to model for the print media, ramp and even acting. "I am really fortunate to have bagged this contract," she says.All set to make her way to the US by January, Shaon has been busy on several fronts in Mumbai and Dhaka: as print media model for Mumbai's Taj Hotel beauty salon, the Kerala resort of Taj, special Eid programmes for Channel i. In addition, she walked the ramp at the Bollywood Fashion Award function in New York and New York Fashion Week this year. In the former, she displayed attire designed by Sabyasachi and Manish Malhotra. As if that wasn't enough, she has received several film, TV serial and choreography offers. She would also like to continue her studies side by side. She has gained admission to study law at the Bandra National College, Mumbai but has to fine tune the balance between academics and her passion for modeling. At a relatively young age, Shaon has had a heady taste of success. Despite her busy career in showbiz, she has bagged a first class in economics from Symbiosis College, Pune in India. She has also worked with top designers in India and Bangladesh. Among the Bangladeshi designers are Maheen Khan, Tamara Abed, Roxanna Salam, Anila Haque, Kuhu and Ruchi. In India she has worked closely with choreographers Rashmi Virmani and Elrich D'Souza. There's no place like home for many who are based overseas. However, Shaon is hard headed enough to realise that in Bangladesh the fashion industry is still in its infancy. Often models are expected to work gratis, without regard for getting their due. "There is a great need for professionali-sation of the industry," says Shaon. Certainly Shaon's voice ought to carry weight. She has to her credit the title of Miss Bangladesh and represented the country in the Miss World contest held in Sun City in South Africa in 2001. Later she was VJ for a show, Fully Phataphati, branded by MTV for Tara Bangla. Here Shaon perused listeners' requests and played the songs of well known artistes. Now bound for New York, Shaon is optimistic about her future. "By representing Bangladesh in New York, I hope to be a catalyst for change and professionalisation in the country's fashion world," she says.
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