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Advertisement - Continue Reading Below"You're it," Paul Marciano told Priyanka Chopra, having just barely made her acquaintance. "It has to be you." The designer knew he had found his next Guess girl as soon as he laid his eyes on her, but unlike previous women he'd tapped to be the face of his international brand—Kate Upton, Claudia Schiffer, Anna Nicole Smith, Adriana Lima, and Drew Barrymore—she is a woman of color.
More From ELLEChopra is the first ever "brown" girl in Guess' 30-year history and the star of its new vintage-inspired holiday 2013 campaign, shot by photographer and "Summer of '69" singer Bryan Adams. The 31-year-old Indian actress and singer wore the season's hourglass-accentuating dresses, while channeling old Hollywood movie stars à la Sophia Loren (Marciano believes Chopra is a young incarnation of the Italian icon) for the sultry spread.
In the midst of Chopra's major step toward global stardom, we caught up with the exotic beauty on diversity in the industry, the importance of celebrating women's curves, doing the unexpected, and working with rock 'n' roll legend Adams (who serenaded her on set!). As a bonus, she has exclusively shared her top five favorite Bollywood tracks with ELLE.com, below.
You're getting international attention as the first Indian woman to be the face of Guess, how does it feel?The fact that I'm the first woman of [a different] ethnicity to be a part of a Guess campaign is amazing. I've gotten a great reaction so far. Courtesy of GuessPhoto: Courtesy of Guess
Do you think you're helping to pave the way for Indian women to receive more global exposure?I do feel so. We live in such a diverse world now, especially in America where the face of a quintessential young woman has changed. Everything I'm trying to do does pave the way for women from every part of the world to cross borders and be a part of global pop culture.Lack of diversity in the fashion industry has been a hot topic. Do you agree with people who believe that there's not enough of it?Well, I think that we need to look around us and see what the world is today. Like I said, the face of the girl next door can be anyone, from anywhere. Yes, I do think that diversity is the way to go because that's the world we're living in.Guess has helped propel the careers of many of its campaign faces. Are you prepared for even more international stardom?For me, I've been working since I was 17 years old. So what excites me more than the fame and the accolades is being able to break barriers and be a game changer—do things that are different from what's normally seen. So, it's that challenge that really excites me. I want to be able to break through and do things that maybe I'm not supposed to. [Laughs]Yes, we love women who shake things up! Guess has often looked to curvier girls for its campaigns. Why do you think that's important?Well, I've never believed in size zero. I've always felt that women need to be curvier. That's what I love about Guess. It celebrates the femininity of a woman. It's female power and always shot with iconic women who represent that. Photo: Courtesy of Guess
Who are some of your favorite Guess girls of the past?Oh, Claudia Schiffer is definitely my favorite. I love her as the face of Guess. She's so natural and beautiful. She has a stunning face. I'm a huge fan.Paul Marciano has deemed you a young Sophia Loren. Are you a fan of hers?Yes, who isn't? I think she's one of the most beautiful women in the world. To be compared to her in any regard is a huge compliment. I love her. It's so funny because a few months ago, a friend of mine was working with her and I asked him to get me her book. Then, I ended up doing this campaign—and for Paul to have said that was such a fluke.You shot the campaign in California with Bryan Adams. What was it like working with him?It was great working with Bryan. You know, he's such a huge star—we love Bryan in India. Actually, when I heard Bryan Adams was going to be the photographer, I didn't think it was the singer. I couldn't believe someone could be so multi-talented. He was so creative and sang for me!We're very jealous. When he wasn't serenading you, what music did you guys listen to?Oh, we listened to everything from hip-hop and rap to Bollywood music.We imagine one of her best-loved Bollywood tracks was among them. Have a listen, below!