Emanuel Ungaro walks down the ramp with her, holding her hand amidst applause after a couture presentation. Supermodel Karen Mulder is buddy-buddy with her and they go pub-hopping together on weekends. The New York Fashion Week is waiting to be charmed by her. Her, by the way, is Ujjwala Raut, who is haute property on the fashion circuit after taking Paris by storm.
So much so, homecomings are short and sweet affairs. Not that she minds. Ujjwala is used to living life out of a suitcase as she jet-sets between Paris, Milan and Tokyo to walk the ramp for names such as Elle Saab, Emanuel Ungaro, Jean-Louis Scherrer and Versace. ‘‘But I still have a long way to go,’’ she quickly points out, ‘‘I want to walk for Ralph Lauren, and Dolce and Gabbana.’’
Well, Ujjwala’s track record indicates that her dreams will not remain unfulfilled for long. ‘‘My looks and my skin colour are my greatest assets. When international designers look for models with Brazilian or Spanish looks, I fit in like a glove!’’ But walking down the ramp as Emanuel Ungaro’s show-stopping model hasn’t come easy to Ujjwala. What has helped is her stint with Elite which, she says, has inculcated in her ‘‘professionalism, which is required in an international model over and above discipline and looks.’’
This international model hob-nobs with the likes of Naomi Campbell and Stella McCartney and shops at high-street fashion stores in Paris and Tokyo. But she still cooks her own desi meal on weekends. It is a mature head which sits pretty on those young shoulders — but even mature heads miss home, sweet home. The youngest of five sisters, Ujjwala feels at home in Mumbai. ‘‘It is my base... whatever I do, wherever I go, I have to come back to my base,’’ she says. Her voice betrays an emotional side. Ujjwala ‘‘misses her family very much.’’ But as a successful globe-trotting model, who makes between $ 1,000-5,000 per show, Ujjwala has made her parents proud of her.
Back to the ramp. More often than not, Ujjwala models the ‘bridal look’ in couture shows. But to see her as a real-life bride, she insists, we’ll have to wait for a good 5-7 years! ‘‘I feel that 28-29 years is the right age for marriage. At this age, one is fairly settled in one’s career and more mature.’’ Well, boyfriends? ‘‘I travel 15 days a month; where’s the time? But yes, I do meet interesting men and that is good fun for now.’’ The boyfriends can come later. Ujjwala Raut would rather court the company of success now.