When I was younger I remember getting excited about discovering Yasmin Gauri for the first time: I was paging through the latest Elle magazine and was dazzled by her image! I didn’t realize she was South Asian until I glanced at her name, a dead giveaway indeed.

I couldn’t believe it. A Pakistani model? Ok

ay, only half Pakistani, but to my little adolescent mind it was one step forward for Yasmin and a giant step forward for South Asians.

Fast forward to 2010 where South Asians are everywhere. Enter Lakshmi Menon. She just placed at honorable #45 in the Askmen.com “Top 99 Most Desirable Women of 2010.” This gorgeous Indian beauty from Bangalore got off to a “late start” in the modeling world, not starting until she was twenty-five. Now she’s gracing the pages of everything, from Dazed and Confused to Vogue, as well as appearing in coveted ad campaigns for Givenchy and retail giant H&M.

Let’s hope there’s more where she came from.

—RACHEL KHONA

More posts:

Posted on 23 May 2010