In the modelling world, old is still gold

We seem to be going back to the future. When ’70s ramp queen Anna Bredmeyer sashayed down the catwalk 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 looks the same, walks the same. We had no such standard, so each developed her own style.�
This was also true in Milan recently when supermodel Mehr Jessia took to the ramp after a 10-year absence. She wowed all with her flair, though she admitted later that she had been nervous before she went on.
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 one-off is fine, but in today’s youth-obsessed industry, would there be a market for yesteryears’ models? “If the model was a supermodel like Anna, or a star like Sangeeta, then yes,� says event director Sharmilla Khanna. “The attraction quotient would be the same as that of a filmstar or a celebrity. They would be given showstopper outfits, be the stars of the show.� Event Director Marc Robinson agrees: “If a Milind or myself were to return, we would be accepted. The same is true for a Mehr. But not any yesteryear model can come back.�