New Delhi: Yug Sanjay Devalia, a 19-year-old from Borivali, a suburb in Mumbai, has made history by walking the Dior runway as one of the first Indian male models.
Yug, a mechanical engineering student at Dwarkadas J Sanghvi College of Engineering in Mumbai, just made his runway debut at Dior’s Spring/Summer 27 show in Paris.
He wore a grey open plaid coat with a checkered button-up mixed with blue checkered fabric at the collar as well as sleeves, and at the bottom, paired with faded grey jeans and a one-shoulder bag with the iconic Dior print.
In a 26 June interview with The Nod Mag, Yug recalled that he was “a little nervous” before the events from the day of the show.
“I was a little nervous. Then once I stepped on the runway, I stayed very calm and focused. The whole day got over so quickly,” he said. “To be one of the first Indian male models to walk for Dior menswear feels like a piece of history.”
He had to wake up at 3.30 am for the show because the call time was 5 am.
When asked about the show timings, he said, “I’m normally not a morning person. Since I’ve been in Paris, I’ve been drinking coffee instead of my usual chaa doodh.”
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Yug’s proud family
Yug’s introduction to the modelling world came through a family connection. His cousin knew Showin Bishop, founder of 28Models, who was scouting for new faces in Mumbai. After seeing Yug’s portfolio, Bishop recognised him as a new talent and signed him.
Before making his debut, he trained for one and a half months at Mumbai’s Vision Vogue Academy, under the founder and model Suhail Singh, who guided him on things like how to walk and pose. And within just 15 days, the engineering student-turned-model was flying to Paris to walk for Dior.
Back home in Mumbai, his family was very excited. It took them a while to process it, with his mom trying to understand why her son was flying to Paris, his dad quietly adapting, saying nothing but meaning everything, and his sister, who had never stopped believing in him.
Yug posted his family’s reaction to his walk on Instagram, and it’s clear he has an amazing and very proud support system.
Yug plans on finishing his engineering degree and returning to Mumbai once his summer break ends, but he is definitely going to continue with his passion and pursue his inevitably successful modelling career.
Yug’s comment sections on social media have been flooded with positivity and support.
“You were SOOOOO gorgeous! Watched you in person @dior and you killed it!” one user wrote.
Kaveri Acharya commented, “This is precious the kids are slaying” in another TheNodMag’s post featuring Yug.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)