It takes a lot for a 10-year-old in urban India to face immense hair loss because of a condition called ‘Alopecia’. It takes a lot more than that for that same 10-year-old to grow up, and at 15, accept herself and decide to shave all her hair off. Toshada Uma, is all that, and more.
At 16, the unexpected happened to her, photographers started asking her to model for them – it was encouraging but at the same time, shocking to her. But she thought – why not?
Toshada was always approached by people asking about her alternative fashion choices, something that’s quite rare in India. She began blogging and sharing her looks – attracting more attention from people who were interested to make their own eyebrow extensions and wigs, along with clothes.
She’s been modelling for 3 years now, and balances that with her education as well as her new venture, AltShop – where she’s got her own line of alternative fashion for both the Indian and international markets.
Toshada Uma draws a circle around the exclusion of petite people in the body positivity movement, and now uses her social media reach to share her story and encourage more petite models in the fashion industry.
At 19, she’s basically killing it and is taking the fashion industry by storm both through modelling and as an entrepreneur – all fueled by confidence and self-love.
You can reach out to Toshada here. Watch our video and follow us on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.