Model, lawyer and acitivist Geeta Minocha became a ‘Midtown sensation’ and Manhattan’s new ‘It Girl” after stripping fully nude at a prestigious ChaShaMa art gala. She is a force to reckon with, and the fashion world simply can’t look away!
‘I had been in arts and fashion spaces for years, but last year’s ChaShaMa gala kind of gave me a revival. I stripped live and let Andy Golub, the pioneering body painter, and other gala attendees paint on my body. Then my best friend texted that she was having difficulty getting into the event, so I had to run out of the building painted, but fully nude, straight into Midtown Manhattan to get her in. Surreal experience. I obviously had a lot of people sexualize me in that moment and after. But I also had so many tell me how empowering they found it — at least one person stripped impromptu to get painted by Andy, too. What a great reminder that the best art, and the most powerful conversations, come organic, unplanned.’ explains Geeta.
Geeta Minocha
She adds, ‘It is hard to define a modern ‘It Girl’. I believe she doesn’t try to be an It Girl. She just tries to be fully herself. I think that’s harder than ever at this moment, when everyone has GPT at their fingertips telling them what to say, or TikTok telling them how to look. Give me something different, please, even if it’s imperfect. And that is what I aspire to be’And what the future holds for her, whether in fashion or as a successful lawyer, ‘I value authenticity. I only want to do things I sincerely enjoy and that feel right. At the moment, that’s a lot of creative projects spanning fashion, writing, policy, and art. But one, five, ten years from now, who knows! I’ll probably feel differently. And I don’t want to have a fixed identity! I enjoy reinventing myself and keeping people on their toes.’
We interviewed Geeta about her unique fashion style.
Q: Your name is popping up in a lot of spaces, from magazines to blogs to anonymous forums. Writer Pranjal Jain has called you “magnetic.” There’s buzz around not just the work you do as a model, but also the social circles you occupy, the people around you, and who you are as an individual. Why do you think that is?
I think people are responding to my presence more than any particular work. I end up in a lot of unusual, incongruous rooms. I’m comfortable in all of them, even when the through-line isn’t immediately obvious.
In this moment, we are all starved for sincerity. My relationships have never been transactional; I’ll befriend anyone whose ideas and M.O. I find compelling, and who is kind. Approaching people this way tends to carry.
Q: What motivates your willingness to occupy so much space, especially now, when attention itself has become a tradable good?
I don’t experience it as a willingness to occupy space. We all participate in the attention economy, of course — and it may just kill us all — but I do my best to keep attention as a happy accident instead of a singular goal. So if I’m at all visible, it’s because I’m engaged.
Q: Is there anything you actively refuse to do, creatively or professionally, even if it might bring you more visibility?
I dislike heavy retouching, always have. A pimple here and there, some flyaways, that’s fair game. But I’m uncomfortable with altering major features of my face and body, like my undereye hollows or nasolabial folds. I’ve had shoots where my face was edited to the gods. I’ve had shoots where I’ve personally advocated for that, too, because of my insecurities. But I don’t want to do that moving forward, if I have the power to prevent it. I don’t want to perpetuate harmful ideas about aging, or help distort our collective understanding of real faces and bodies.
Q: People seem interested in placing you: downtown, uptown, Dimes Square, some mix. You were dubbed “Miss Morningside Heights” at Columbia, but you also come up in conversations about downtown’s creative scene. Where do you think you fit?
I’m not downtown, and I’m certainly not Dimes. I’m an uptown girl through and through.
I do hang out with a lot of creatives, so perhaps that’s where there’s overlap. But to the extent Dimes Square still has a pulse, the flavor of reactionary politics is abhorrent and the faux-bohemian, dilettante lifestyles are deeply unserious. Everyone affiliated would benefit greatly from stepping out of New York once in a while, checking into rehab, and taking a shower.
As for normal downtowners, the ones who are just, like, denim shirt, baggy pants-wearing cigarette smokers without the hateful Hitler stuff — the Julia Fox types — I adore them. So cool. The vibe is just different from mine.
Q: You’ve been involved with or cited in a range of artistic ventures lately, from writing to photography, often occupying a very loosely-defined role. For example, OMG Bubbles, an upstart entertainment and production company, tapped you for a campaign this summer as its entree to the fashion world. How do you decide what creative projects to take on?
I can tell right away who I will mesh with personally, professionally, and creatively. If the chemistry is there, I’m more inclined than not to work on their ideas, even if they are a little out there.
OMG is a great example of this. I met Emre Kusmin, the founder, at a party this summer and was instantly impressed with his vision. “Bubbles in fashion” — the kind of bubbles you’d see kids with on a playground — sounds wonky, but in practice opens exciting new conceptual territory. It can make for some incredible campaigns and shows spanning commercial to couture. The OMG editorial campaign, where I’m playing in and with bubbles, proves that.
Q: Most of New York’s It Girls have a large online presence. You don’t. What’s your relationship to social media?
I think in this era, with the over saturation of major platforms, it’s almost impossible to build a large social media presence from nothing unless you’re at least a little insincere in some way. And I don’t want to play that game!
I can feel myself start doing it, too. I used to think of myself as an earnest poster who was above hyper-curation, but truthfully I think it’s immensely chic to be haphazard and ironic online instead of perfect. And if I think that, I’m probably signaling just as much as the next guy. I don’t want to! If people want to follow me because they like my work and want to hear what I have to say, then awesome. If not, that’s ok too.
Q: In that vein, your Instagram stories often feature DMs you receive. Sometimes they’re funny, sometimes raunchy, sometimes political or philosophical. How do you decide what to share online?
There’s no real strategy here. People send me all sorts of stuff: political takes, cultural critiques, jokes, half-formed thoughts. I just share what I find genuinely interesting or reflective. I especially like to amplify thoughtful ideas coming from unexpected places.
As for the funny and raunchy stuff, well, I like to laugh at myself. I’ll always share a DM that’s a little unhinged. Names and profile pictures are always hidden.
Q: Your style is distinct and recognizable even in this city full of strong fashion personalities. How would you describe the signature Geetalook?
Midi or maxi dress with kitten heels. And my beloved Augustina hobo from Khaite.
Q: Kitten heels?
One of my best friends mentioned this recently too: I wear pretty tiny heels on the reg. But I walk everywhere! Can’t do a stiletto all day.
Q: Handbags clearly play a big role in how you dress. If Carrie Bradshaw was New York’s shoe obsessed girl, you might be Gen Z’s bag obsessed one. What is the bag of the of moment?
Anything Schiaparelli is always the moment. Their Soufflé, particularly the teal ombré, has been my bag crush all year.
For a similar vibe that’s more affordable, Boccinelli is an upstart bag brand on my wishlist now, too. The Wild Thing tote is insane.
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