Get it’s Kathleen Loxton sits down with Esha-Avantha Naidoo, who gets real about the beauty industry and being a part of Good American’s Good Squad, co-founded by Khloe Kardashian
Diversity and representation, especially in the industries of beauty and fashion, has been a key factor throughout Esha’s career and stemmed from seeing where the beauty industry can improve first-hand. Speaking of starting modelling at the age of 17, Esha noted how much the industry has changed since then and how important it is, particularly for young women, to have role models to look up to. “The industry wasn’t like it is now, there’s more women of colour and products that cater to skin tones like mine. At the time, I wanted to feel just as beautiful as the other girls walking down the runway. There just wasn’t the products or knowledge for makeup artists to be able to cater for girls like me, so I took it upon myself to learn. It was such a nice transition; now I can help other women of colour,” said Esha.
This perfect blend of work ethic and personal values found their ideal match when Esha was scrolling through Instagram one day and spotted Good American was opening applications to be part of their Good Squad, co-founded by Khloe Kardashian. The Good Squad would be a diverse and powerful group of women, of different ethnicities and body shapes, who would be representing the brand in their new denim campaign. To apply, Esha submitted photos and answered a few questions, then went back to focus on her work as a successful makeup artist, model and influencer.
A few weeks later, Esha received an exciting email asking her to come to the open casting in Sydney, Australia. Of the casting experience, Esha said, “The process was very interesting! There were so many beautiful women there; getting to talk to other girls and hearing about their lives was wonderful. The team was also great and very involved.” After the casting was complete, Esha went back to work again, fully focussed and not expecting anything more than this unique experience. “If you expect there’s a chance, I know in this industry sometimes you can be disappointed, so you’ve just got to try your best,” advised Esha.
Open castings for the Good Squad were held in three locations, including America, the United Kingdom and Australia; this was whittled down from 60,000 submissions and only ten were to be selected for the Good Squad. When Esha found out she was one of those ten, the moments that followed could only be described as a “whirlwind.” Australians were well represented in the line-up; “They loved Australians! Five Australians were actually chosen,” explained Esha.
Speaking about the goals she would like to achieve, and the message she would like to spread, Esha is concentrating on being a good role model and encouraging others to follow their dreams. “Giving young women of colour someone to look up to… we still don’t see that enough and I’d love to be that person young girls can see as looking like them and prove to them they can do it too. I believe you should follow your dreams regardless of race, religion and gender,” said Esha.
Esha’s involvement with the Good Squad has been a valuable and fun experience for her, and something she will definitely be making the most of and hold close to her heart – it will also be keeping her very busy for the foreseeable future. Reflecting on the photoshoot for Good American’s upcoming campaign, Esha recalled, “There’s been so many great moments being involved with the Good Squad so far. The whole photoshoot actually, the location, clothes and the team – it was such a good experience.”
The planning and goal achieving doesn’t stop there, and after the Good Squad Esha has a few things in the pipeline. “I’d like to build my brand here and put myself out there. Attend some fashion weeks and maybe try the US in a couple of years,” said Esha.
Esha left us with a very important final note, “Young girls should embrace who they are. I know social media is a huge influence – you need to own who you are, embrace it and love yourself!” With this kind of mindset and beliefs going into the fashion and beauty industries, there is hope for young girls to see amazing women that represent them, and trust us, when they see it can be done there is no stopping them.
