Katherine MacAlister discovers there’s so much more to the latest Face of Oxford than good looks

Indroneel Chatterjee can scarcely believe his luck. Not only has he become the latest Face of Oxford Fashion Week, being the first male to do so in the event’s five-year history, but having failed to launch a sustainable modelling career back home in Mumbai, he never imagined Oxford would prove such a successful launch pad.

“I know, I can’t believe it. I came here to get away from everything back home, to start again, to relaunch myself, to study. It’s my first time in Europe and in the UK,” he grins.

The news is filtering out back home as well, with newspapers and news channels in India desperate to feature their new star, but for now he’s ours to enjoy.

As for being just a pretty face, Indroneel is enormously bright as well, with endless degrees and masters to his name in everything from applied psychology to advertising and hospitality, but is the first to admit he hasn’t worked out what he wants to do with his life.

“I don’t see that as a bad thing, because I see life as an adventure,” he says.

He’s dabbled in films and modelling: “But it was more corporate, or for local designers, nothing like this” he said, and despaired of ever making it on a more international stage.

“In India models tend to have a much lighter skin than mine,” he says shrugging.

Instead, his interest in neuromarketing and industrial psychology, brought him to Oxford Brookes to study. On his way to hand in his dissertation, he brushed past a leaflet for OFW castings and raced down just in time for the auditions. Even so the 24-year-old could scarcely believe it when he was announced as the Face of next week’s OFW: “It’s the first time I’ve experienced anything like this and it’s such a great opportunity, so it really caught me off guard.

“It was so overwhelming but now I’m just really excited,” he says: “It’s the cherry on the cake.”

Tiffany Saunders, a model, former OFW Face and OFW director, said: “A casting director once told me: ‘Looks will get you through the door but your personality will keep you there.’ “So while looks are important I’m always thinking about what else a person brings, and even though the competition this year was amazing, my instincts told me to go with Indroneel.”

Which means that, having been chosen from hundreds of hopefuls, Indroneel has finally launched his modelling career in style.

“I’m really looking forward to being mentored, for OFW to introduce me to the ins and outs of modelling. I’m very open-minded about a full-time modelling career. It’s such a positive opportunity.”

SEE IT
You can catch Indroneel Chatterjee at OFW from November 3-8. 
For further details go to oxfordfashionweek.com

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