Who’s next? TRENDSETTERS, TECH WHIZZES & RISK-TAKERS

FEMINIST MUSLIM AND VICTORIA'S SECRET MODEL MIGHT, AT FIRST GLANCE, NOT BE THE MOST OBVIOUS BEDFELLOWS , SHANINA SHAIK, HOWEVER, IS PROOF THAT THEY CAN BE WE SPOKE TO HER ABOUT BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS AND DEFYING ALL ODDS

Ever been in the presence of a Victoria’s Secret model? No? Let me paint a picture for you. Jaws drop. Stomachs get sucked in. Otherwise very discreet industry professionals get a bit giddy and begin fawning. It’s little wonder the word ‘angel’ comes attached to the job description, because you get the distinct impression that these girls are from a world separate to our own. You can’t imagine they ever get greasy hair or trip over while running for the bus, put it that way.

Shanina Shaik is one such creature whose entrance into our closed set in Al Quoz sets in motion all of the above. Our very established hairstylist can’t stop staring. “You’re, like, really pretty,” he says to her, unwittingly quoting Mean Girls to the 25-year-old SaudiPakistani-Australian knockout who’s just appeared on set.

That mix alone is enough to make her stand out. That and her easy-chic style – she arrives wearing no make-up and swears by Manuka honey: “it contains healing agents for your skin”, a biscuit-toned slip dress and embellished flats) – and her irrefutably humble, girl-next-door demeanour. She’s a sweetie, glowing from a recent engagement and as down-to-earth as they come. “We got engaged at Christmas in the Bahamas,” she tells me in between proudly showing me videos of her fiancé, DJ Ruckus, scratching up a storm at a recent gig. “He’s cousins with Lenny Kravitz, who helped him design one