From pageants to the runway—the models who transformed Indian fashion

I went for a job to the Taj Hotel in Bombay,” recalls Suzanne Sablok, a semi-finalist at Miss Universe beauty pageant in 1990. “The general manager told me a designer was auditioning models and suggested I try out. At 17, I had no clue what it was. I don’t know why, but they chose me—and the designer was Pierre Cardin.”

In the late 1980s, Indian fashion was undergoing a major transformation. The country’s first multi-designer store, Ensemble, was launched by Rohit Khosla and Tarun Tahiliani. With globalisation on the horizon, Cardin was poised to be the first international designer to enter the Indian market, designing clothes from Indian textiles. The first Lakme Fashion Week was still nearly a decade away, and a new generation of models emerging from beauty pageants and modelling contests was reshaping Indian fashion and its business.

Magazine readership was waning in the early 1990s, remembers Sathya Saran, who was then the editor of a magazine that ran the Miss India contest. “Our publisher, Pradeep Guha, decided that Miss India would become a brand in itself, lending its prestige to the magazine,” she explains. The top three winners would participate in the Miss Universe, Miss World, and Miss Asia-Pacific beauty pageants, respectively. “That was more visual and aspirational compared to reading.” Alongside a training programme led by the likes of Nayanika Chatterjee on walking and posing, designers like Ritu Kumar were approached to design the contestants’ trousseau. “She understood the international market because she had an export wing. Her screenprinting and embroideries were exceptional—she brought everything into play,” Saran adds.

Sablok, who befriended designers like Shahab Durazi, Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla, was welcomed to borrow pieces for her wardrobe. One standout was a black suit by Durazi that caught the judges’ attention during an interview round, as they were surprised to see an Indian contestant in a Western outfit. Designer and choreographer Hemant Trevedi also helped curate the contestants’ trousseau. “Sheetal [Mallar] and Ujjwala [Raut] came with their mothers,” Trevedi recalls. “Any colour I chose for Aishwarya [Rai] had to highlight her face—be it her finale gown in pristine white, or her traditional costume in pale yellow mesh.” Diana Hayden remembers over-instructing Trevedi about her finale gown so much that he joked about whether there was anything left for him to design.

As designers from NIFT emerged, Saran mooted an idea that allowed participants to select a designer who was either a recent graduate or a student. “I partnered with the British Council to offer the winner a six-month scholarship with a UK designer. That’s how Sabyasachi came to the spotlight. When he returned, he told me, ‘I’ve never been the same after that’,” Saran tells Bazaar India. With multi-designer stores like Glitterati and the rise of the internet, the “designer” figure gained prominence. “This new generation had even studied abroad,” notes choreographer Lubna Adams who started as a model. Meanwhile, the industry saw growing professionalism as make-up artists were hired and accessories curated—a shift from earlier days when models did their own make-up.

Before Lakme Fashion Week, designers organised joint shows, or textile houses like Vimal hosted them— primarily for buyers. Anna Bredemeyer, Miss India 1976, who walked for Cardin, recalls doing shows for Bombay Dyeing and Ambica Mills. Designers like JJ Valaya found sponsors for independent shows, and NIFT launched its graduate presentations. “I did the graduate show for Manish Arora,” says Shyla Lopez, Miss India runner-up 1992. Nina Manuel, who participated in the Elite Model Look 1995 contest, says people recognise you from contests. “It helps you build contacts,” says Manuel who was immediately noticed by Mehr Jesia. “She booked me for Tarun Tahiliani’s show, then Hemant Trevedi booked me for Shahab Durazi’s. Designers worked with coordinators who already had a set list of girls for their shows, making it tough to break into the scene,” she explains. Photographers captured runway and backstage moments and shared those with advertising agencies and brands for talent scouting, Lopez adds. Carol Gracias, winner of the Elite 1997 contest, corroborates the same. “The news was everywhere that I had won. So everyone would talk about who their favourite model was—then everyone knew you.”

The fanfare around models surged. “There was Dino Morea, Lara Dutta, Bipasha Basu. John [Abraham] was my buddy,” Lopez laughs. “We’d all hang out, eating street food in Bandra.” Models graced every cover and editorial, attracting massive followings, says Adams. “A man once chased our bus just to say hello! People stopped us for autographs.” Brands sought contest winners for campaigns, says Saran. In 1998, Cindy Crawford launched Omega at the Miss India contest, and after L’Oréal coloured the contestants’ hair for the televised event, hair colouring took off in India. Each model had their own personality which they brought to the ramp. “When you came to a show, you wanted to see what Suzanne or Anna would do,” Sablok says.

“We were the first batch of models to walk at Lakmeˉ,” says Nethra Raghuraman, winner of Elite 1997. She went to Milan but struggled as her booker sent her to places that wouldn’t accept her. When Fern Mallis joined IMG, her first trip was to Mumbai for India’s inaugural fashion week, which showcased the business potential for designers. “International brands came to India for shows, but not for buyers. Their audience was the ultra-rich who spent on couture,” shares Mallis. “My role was to bring international buyers and editors from the US and Europe to witness India’s talent.”

Raghuraman recalls walking for Sabyasachi’s first Lakmeˉ show. “I wore a lehenga of his that was absurdly heavy, yet beautifully constructed so I could still walk in it. I once did a Tarun Tahiliani bridal show where my outfit weighed around 60kg. Three girls had to help me climb 20 steps to the stage,” she reveals. Around this time, Manuel ventured into television. “That kept me relevant on the runway longer. I became a different kind of celebrity,” she says. Lopez notes that crowd-pulling models became indispensable. “Designers wanted a star to lead the show,” she says. Manuel recalls a Rina Dhaka show where she wore a thong under a mesh dress, and it caused a furore. “Rina still brings it up whenever we meet in London,” she laughs.

“A whole batch of us entered through contests and left a mark on the industry,” says Raghuraman. “We changed how shows were run. My batch, which included Fleur [Xavier], Nina, Tapur, and Tupur, reshaped fashion.” Adams recalls how dance performances were once the norm at shows until she started choreographing and eventually phased them out. Ujjwala Raut had a very different experience after Elite in 1996—she was handpicked by Tom Ford and Karl Lagerfeld. “I was one of Vogue’s models,” she recalls, frequently working with fashion director Anaita Shroff Adajania. Editorials were shot across India, and she remembers a French photographer struggling to capture a shot in Gujarat due to the surrounding crowds.

Indian designers began showcasing internationally with the same batch of models. Lopez recalls a waiter accidentally spilling champagne on her dress minutes before she was supposed to open Wendell Rodricks’ first Dubai Fashion Week show in 2001. “Wendell asked me to calm down and blow-dried the dress himself,” she laughs. After shows in East Africa, there were families who would buy entire collections, says Lopez. “Everything rode on the model’s back,” Raut agrees. “Designers expected us to bring their creations to life. When brands like FCUK entered India, they wanted models with international credibility.” Iconic photographers had their muses, and Raut worked extensively with Farrokh Chothia. Raghuraman remembers walking the Valentino show on the Asiatic Society steps in 2004, terrified of falling. “The aesthetic, the music, the clothes, the finish,” she exclaims. “Like Rajesh Pratap Singh, Pankaj and Nidhi—you cannot tell me Valentino is better than Sabya.”

Lead image: Anna Bredemeyer with co-contestants at a beauty pageant; Courtesy Anna Bredmeyer

This piece originally appeared in the January-February print edition of Harper's Bazaar India. 

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