'A West Yorkshire girl representing in New York'

The winner of a beauty pageant celebrating Asian women says it is "still sinking in" after being invited to hit the catwalk at the New York Fashion Awards.

Anita Kaur, from Bradford, was inspired to sign up for the Ms Empress Asia UK Pageant in March to "push herself out of her comfort zone".

She went on to be crowned winner of the 46-60 years age category and Role Model of the Year, before securing the chance to fly stateside in September.

Kaur said: "It's still an out-there thing for me, I don't think it's hit home until I get there, [then] it'll feel more real that a girl from West Yorkshire is representing in New York."

"When I say it out loud it's incredible and I can't quite believe it," she added.

Her decision to enter the pageant was "made on a whim", she explained, "shocking a lot of people because this is just not me".

She said she almost pulled out but was convinced to continue by the pageant director.

"It just felt things were aligning and this was the path I was meant to go on," she said.

Support from family and friends, including her daughter and sisters, have also helped to encourage her.

"I get a lot of support and encouragement, they're my biggest cheerleaders, my biggest support system," she added.

"It's really, really nice that they're all there for me and I know if I needed to talk to anybody about anything, a lot of them have come forward and helped."

On 12 September, Anita will be striding down Runway Seven in New York, for clothing brand Randhawa, created by designer and stylist Amna Inam.

Laughing, she described herself as "very, very scared".

"[I'm] trying not to overthink, trying not to watch the videos, which I can't help myself.

"I need to watch things on social media, to look at how the stage is, how the runway is to have a bit of a feel of what I'm going to be met with when I get there."

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