Rajvatan Singh.

Growing up in Patiala, a Punjabi city located in northwestern India, the now 26-year-old model and secondary school teacher Rajvatan Singh confesses that he never paid much attention to the fashion world: ‘I was pretty clueless about the industry itself,’ he comments. His main gig is teaching history and sociology at a Sikh secondary school in Hayes, West London, and while on set he tells me his students are well aware that he models. ‘They had seen my work through the people that I have collaborated with in the community,’ he explains. ‘They reacted very positively and have shown tremendous support in following and sharing my work. Some found confidence to approach me with the intention of getting some advice on how to begin modelling.’

‘Being a high-school teacher has contributed a lot to being able to share my experiences with my students and the school community as a whole,’ he continues. ‘So I feel that this has made somewhat of an impact [in helping the Sikh community]. I entered this industry to represent myself as well as my community and, over the years, I’d like to think that my exposure in the media has led the younger generation in the Sikh community to aspire to be creative individuals, not always wanting to be a model but to venture out into various other roles within fashion industry.’

Dubbed the UK’s first Sikh model, Rajvatan points out that it is a misleading title. ‘I always have to clarify that I was actually referred to as the UK’s first Sikh model to walk for two major fashion shows taking place in the UK, the first being India Fashion Week 2017 and the second, National Asian Wedding Show 2017.’

When I ask whether he has ever encountered any uncomfortable situations on set, he reassures me that he has been extremely fortunate and has never felt as though he doesn’t belong. ‘I feel I have been extremely fortunate so far with the way that I have been accepted in the fashion world,’ he explains. ‘Professionals have always displayed their interest and enthusiasm towards me as purely a working model, irrespective of my cultural identity and beliefs.’ And what does it mean to be a Sikh man? ‘To be a Sikh man,’ he explains, ‘is to be connected with God and to follow the path of living a life of honesty, integrity and righteousness.’