WHILE Jessica Gomes celebrates her third-year inclusion in Sports Illustrated's annual Swimsuit Issue, it was a landmark debut for US model Sonia Dara, who is of South Asian descent.

The 20-year-old Harvard sophomore, who is majoring in economics, made history by becoming the first Indian to be featured in the coveted swimsuit edition.

Only 20 models are featured each year.

The 1.8m-tall Dara, daughter of Indian immigrants who moved to the city of Atlanta in the 1980s, has sharp, distinctive features. She was discovered by talent scouts when she was 16.

She is now part of Elite New York's modelling stable and has appeared as the face of luxury brands Valentino, Saks and Versace.

In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, Dara shared her views on shouldering the responsibility of representing the Indian community in the modelling world.

"I realise that being the first Indian-American to pose for SI (Sports Illustrated) is somewhat of a responsibility. I do have to be mindful of the way I present myself," she said.

"At first glance, the concept of a Hindu girl in Sports Illustrated might seem contradictory.
"With that in mind, I posed as elegantly as possible, in order to never undermine my Hindu upbringing."

Special place

Her SI shoot was done in Rajasthan, a state in India that holds a special place in her heart. It was where her ancestors were from, she said.

"It was very nice to go back to my roots and to have the opportunity to show off the beauty of Rajasthan."

Today, Dara, who hopes her economics degree will help her "combine elements of business with fashion" in her career, is one busy lady.

When The New Paper approached her management Elite New York for an interview, her publicist informed us that she is "currently tied up with fashion shows in Paris".

This article was first published in The New Paper.