Famous model and entrepreneur Nadia Hussain recently graced Frieha Altaf’s FWhy Podcast, offering insight into her multi-faceted life, from her early years to her experiences in the modeling industry. Born in London due to her father’s connection with Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Nadia shared her unique path to obtaining a UK passport, attributing it to a stroke of luck following a change in the law.
“Soon after my brother was born, the law changed where the parents also had to have British passports,” he recalls. “So we were lucky, that without our parents having a British passport, we got the passport because we were born there.” The model added, “We came back right after my brother was born. We lived there for maybe the first four years of my life. After that, when we came back to Pakistan, we never went abroad to live anywhere.”
Having spent her early years at Sea View, Nadia recalled her fearless approach to life, even jogging through the streets despite safety concerns. She emphasized her unconventional upbringing, characterized by freedom, and referred to her family relationship with famous singer Tina Sani. “I don’t come from that conventional, conservative background. I’ve always had freedom,” Nadia shared.
Nadia embarked on her educational journey, choosing dental school because of her interest in science and her desire to avoid the lengthy process of earning an MBBS degree. Specifically, he stated that he sought advice from Dr. Arif Alvi, her family dentist, who later became the president of Pakistan. “I remember meeting him after my A Levels. We also talked about colleges, which colleges to apply to,” he recalled.
The conversation shifted to Nadia’s foray into modelling, sparked by a spur-of-the-moment campaign during an internship at an advertising agency after her A Levels. He recalled, “After that, I went for a haircut to Mubashir Khan at Tariq Amin’s and Mubashir said, ‘Oh my God!’ Where were you; Who are you?’ And I thought, well, I’ve done this campaign, I don’t know if I want to continue it – I wouldn’t mind.” She revealed that she did her first show for Imran Qureshi and soon after, Frieha contacted her. Her tall and burly physique earned her the nickname “bummer”, a source of pride for her. Nadia stated, “I used to feel proud of being so tall and standing out. I used to feel happy about it.”
Reflecting on relationships, Nadia opened up about her first love with Tom Cruise and shared quotes from her past experiences. “There was one that eventually got a bit serious, but I think I realized it wasn’t worth it for me because there was just too much of a difference in mentality,” the supermodel candidly stated. She touched on her engagement and later marriage to Atif Khan, highlighting the role she played during her father’s illness and exposing her to the intricacies of hospitals.
Having an inclination towards finance due to her friends being in banking, Nadia revealed that she and her friends decided to invest together. However, they proceeded without informing her. At first she was upset. However, a casual friend suggested a “cheetah broker number”. Nadia decided to call Atif, a person she knew socially, who was already interested in her. She effectively facilitated the investment process and visited her home.
Despite her mother’s initial concerns that the family was not invested in stocks, the conversation between Nadia and Atif led to a deeper relationship. Within five months they were engaged. Unfortunately, during this time, Nadia faced a difficult situation as her father became ill, he suffered a heart attack that required bypass surgery. This marked her first exposure to the complexities of hospitals, with Atif being a constant support during this difficult time.
“Within two, three months of meeting him, my father fell ill,” Nadia said. “He had a heart attack and had to undergo bypass surgery. This was my first exposure to hospitals and I had no idea. Atif already knew hospitals well. It was during that time – he was always by my side.”
The conversation took a serious turn as Nadia recounted a disturbing incident where she was followed to Sea View. Despite asking a police officer for help, she was shocked when he seemingly sided with the stalker, highlighting the challenges women face when it comes to safety. “When I [had newly come into] this industry, they followed me at that time,” said Nadia. “They only followed me to Sea View. I was coming back from I don’t know which side, I think I was coming back from the Dolmen Mall side and I was coming to Sea View. And I didn’t come home…I went to the Darakshan side and started going to the lanes and then came back to Sea View.”
He continued, “At the sea view, I saw a police cell phone. So I was like, ‘Oh, thank God!’ right behind me, he was in a Cruiser or something…I pulled over to the police cell, got out and said, “This guy’s following me!” And the guy [in the car] I went out casually… But when I went to the policeman and told him that this guy is following me, I was horrified to see that the policeman went up to him and shook his hands and did this (bowing gesture) to him.”
Despite feeling upset, she quickly left the scene. Later, she unexpectedly met the man again at the main exit overlooking the sea, where she claimed he was waiting. Undaunted, Nadia stood her ground, confronted him, and then protested to her security guard. He instructed him to inform the area security officer of the continued harassment. Finally, the man left.
Recalling another sad incident after her marriage during Ramadan, Nadia shared that despite her “sober look” and “minimalist make-up”, a man on a motorcycle in traffic was staring at her. Annoyed by his actions, she gestured at him with her hands asking about his behavior. Despite her protests, the man continued to follow her car, making inappropriate gestures. In response, Nadia took matters into her own hands, figuratively and literally, as she ended up punching the man before speeding away. “You can’t let anyone step on you, especially when you haven’t done anything wrong,” he stated firmly.
Discussing the current state of the fashion industry, Nadia expressed her views on the changing dynamics, highlighting the dominance of social media in shaping careers. He highlighted how fashion is now “marketing and selling your brand on social media”. She reflected, “Among the girls, I say even now, there are models now… Open social media and there will be a model. Everyone and their sisters and brothers and mothers and fathers – everyone, in their description it’s like, ‘I’m a model.’ Not just influence, but just saying they’re models. You pick up a rock and there’s a model, you know?”
She continued, “I’m not sure what it is – is there a criteria for models anymore? Isn’t there? Of course, I’m not saying that diversity isn’t good – diversity is very good… see short models, slightly overweight models, we see the dark [models]we see the conventional [ones] according to Pakistani standards’.
However, Nadia added, “There is no longer a supermodel. Everyone is just a model, there is no such thing as a supermodel… A supermodel is someone who is known across the board. Everyone should know who they are. They should be able to they make it print and ramp [and make money]The model went on to state: “Fashion has now become so accessible to everyone. There was a time when print was king, now it isn’t. Now, social media is king. Now, it’s not about who defines the supermodel – originally, it was print…Now your social media is king and your content is king.”
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