Some classic gold returns to the ramp

We seem to be going back to the future. When ’70s ramp queen Anna Bredmeyer sashayed down the catwalk in Mumbai recently, spontaneous applause greeted her.
And this despite the combined oomph of the current crop of models alongside. So how did the spotlight feel? “I’m happiest when I’m on the ramp,� says Anna. “This is what I do best. I don’t get as much of a high with anything else. I still do the occasional show, but I feel everyone might be saying this woman’s been around for God-knows-how-long, why doesn’t she give it a rest? But the applause took me by surprise. I thought to myself, ‘OK, girl, you’ve still got it. Now go for it.’�
Sharing the spotlight was Sangeeta Bijlani, who got the same reception. “It was an adrenaline rush,� she laughs. “I was kind of nervous, because I was getting back after so long. I know styles are different now, girls do a straight walk whilst we used to have a lot of dance and drama in our days. But I wasn’t worried. Once you’re on ramp, you become yourself.�
So why are audiences so taken by the return of the yesteryears’ brigade? “The older lot had more individuality,� says Anna. “Today there’s a perception that the younger lot look the same, walk the same. We had no such standard, so each developed her own style.�
Suzanne Sabloak, Femina Miss India 1989, returning to the ramp after nearly a decade, believes that the ‘look’ has changed. “None of us were flat-chested,� she giggles. “Now the ‘look’ follows an international standard.� Nevertheless, she found coming back “a wonderful feeling.� “I was a little apprehensive because I wasn’t returning all slim and trim, but once on the ramp, it didn’t matter.�
Celebrating a return to the ramp as a oneoff is fine, but in today’s youth-obsessed industry, is there space for yesterday’s beauties? You tell us.