Intentar ORO - Gratis

ALL POWERED UP

VOGUE India

|

January - February 2025

For a long time, South Asians limited themselves to careers in tech and finance in order to make a mark away from Indian soil. Now, they are not only taking over the creative scene but also finding new ways to proudly display the identity they once felt compelled to conceal

ALL POWERED UP

RAYNA VALLANDINGHAM Taekwondo prodigy

By VAISHNAVI NAYEL TALAWADEKAR

'VALLANDINGHAM'HAS THE same ring as several surnames in southern India, and in the minute or so before Rayna Vallandingham appears on the screen, I make a mental note to ask which region it originates from. "It's Dutch," she says, moments after flickering to life, the morning sun in London haloing her heart-shaped face. "But don't worry, I get that a lot." The fourth-degree taekwondo black belt, as I will soon learn, is forgiving when it comes to questions about her ethnicity. The daughter of an Indian-origin mother and a Dutch-origin father, she has learnt to embrace the fact that she doesn't look fully Indian or fully Dutch.

What the 21-year-old also doesn't look like is someone who could take down a man twice her size. And yet, by the age of eight, Vallandingham was doing exactly that, having earned a black belt in taekwondo and being declared a bona fide world champion. "I think my parents just had really high expectations," jokes the Los Angeles-based combat queen, noting that those hopes initially centred on getting their two-year-old daughter to make eye contact with people without bursting into tears. "I was a shy kid, so they put me into martial arts to help me break out of my shell." The fact that she hid under a bench in the dojo for six months before taking her first class might explain why she was so prepared when a senior finally coaxed her out, lifting her gaze to face her opponents in combat, completely unarmed.

VOGUE India

Esta historia es de la edición January - February 2025 de VOGUE India.

Suscríbete a Magzter GOLD para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9000 revistas y periódicos.

¿Ya eres suscriptor?

MÁS HISTORIAS DE VOGUE India

VOGUE India

VOGUE India

Crafting the interior

Even as the cost of self-care soars, with personalised detox programmes, medical-grade solutions and biohacking consultants costing a pretty penny, ANKITA SHAH believes that the best things in life are free

time to read

4 mins

July - August 2025

VOGUE India

VOGUE India

Models off duty

For models, whose lives are shaped by constant transformation, personal style becomes an anchor: an unchanging thread in a world of shifting identities and borrowed visions. MUSKAN MUMTAZ speaks with five of India's leading models to learn about how their off-duty wardrobes become an act of authorship-a map of where they've been and where they're going

time to read

2 mins

July - August 2025

VOGUE India

VOGUE India

Body of work

After a major retrospective in Paris, Rick Owens talks with SALLY SINGER about mortality, belonging, legacy—and the kindness and gentleness he hopes his work embodies

time to read

5 mins

July - August 2025

VOGUE India

VOGUE India

Custom built

Beyond the nose plugs and face tattoos often associated with them, the Apatani people of Arunachal Pradesh have preserved a slower way of life against all odds.

time to read

6 mins

July - August 2025

VOGUE India

VOGUE India

Spirited away

Where she once set off on holiday with an ironclad itinerary that optimised every minute of her trip, AVANTIKA SHANKAR has learned that the beauty of travel is in journeying within

time to read

3 mins

July - August 2025

VOGUE India

VOGUE India

Call it magic

Priyanka Shah makes furniture and objects that could belong in fantasy storybooks, each more unusual than the last.

time to read

2 mins

July - August 2025

VOGUE India

VOGUE India

Hot girls eat protein

Protein has been rebranded as a glow-up essential for women. But beneath the soft fonts and strong messaging hides an older hunger.

time to read

3 mins

July - August 2025

VOGUE India

VOGUE India

Crystal clear

A showcase of jewellery becomes a meditation on empire, memory and the enduring seduction of adornment.

time to read

3 mins

July - August 2025

VOGUE India

VOGUE India

Local heroes

Venturing deep into India's hinterland, Prerna Garg culls out unique ingredients and traditional ecological knowledge to make city dwellers question what they eat and where it comes from.

time to read

3 mins

July - August 2025

VOGUE India

VOGUE India

Got tea?

Therapy meets romcom meets detective agency in the perfect debrief as comedians Atul Khatri and Kiran Deol discuss the art of overanalysing.

time to read

3 mins

July - August 2025