JUST GETTING STARTED
MODEL
DIYA PRABHAKAR, 23
When asked about how the photoshoot for these pages went, the lanky 1.82m model laughs and sheepishly admits that she only slept two hours the night before. Diya has just completed her first year as a business student – she enrolled at Baruch College to study marketing after three years of full-time modelling. She returned home last March, but continued her studies via online classes. The time difference between Singapore and New York means that her schedule is often upended, but Diya is committed to this juggling act.
“Now, I have goals that don't just pertain to modelling, which feels really nice, because when that was the only thing I did, there was so much pressure. It was almost turning something that I loved into something that I disliked because I was so stressed out about booking jobs.
“Modelling is still my priority, and it’s going to be for a very long time to come. But at least, for now, it’s not my only thing.”
She might have gotten her start in this career by chance (she had wanted to become an investment banker), but nine years later, this home-grown model cannot imagine her life going any other way.
JUST BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T GET ONE OPPORTUNITY DOESN’T MEAN THAT YOU CAN’T GET THE OTHER 19
CARVING AN IDENTITY
By the time she was 12, Diya was already standing tall at 1.78m. A model scout in India spotted her when she was 14. She went on to win The New Paper New Face at 15. Then, at 20, she made her Paris Fashion Week debut.
Today, she’s represented by modelling agencies all over the world, including The Industry in New York and Los Angeles, Elite London, Select Milan, Mademoiselle Paris, and Looque Models in Singapore. She's
