Feeling Seen

Anisha Thai, model, dancer and one of Hong Kong Asia's Most Stylish Honourees of 2022, and Lezlie Chan, plus-size model and body positivity advocate, discuss what representation and style mean to them, standing out in the fashion world, and how they're championing diversity in their own unique ways 

- Erica Fong

With her fierce looks and fluid dance moves, you might never guess that Anisha Thai was originally a civil engineer. “I moved to Hong Kong five years ago and was thinking of climbing the corporate ladder, but then I realised that I was missing out on my passion for dance,” says the half-Comorian and half-Vietnamese model, dancer and influencer from Paris.

When the pandemic hit, Thai went through “a period of self reflection” before entering Dance for Life, a dance competition on TVB that she eventually won—calling that the “trigger” she needed to quit her job and pursue her dream of becoming an artist full-time.

“There weren’t many Black models in Hong Kong back then,” recalls Thai, nor much diversity in fashion. Facing multiple rejections from different agencies for not being “Asian” enough—or at all, despite being half-Asian—it became clear that Hong Kong had a very narrow definition of what “Asian” actually meant.