“Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall; Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. The entire king’s horses and all the king’s men, couldn’t put Humpty together again.” We grew up laughing loud on petite Humpty’s clumsiness and enjoy falling people on banana peels unless they are us. Though none of us might have witnessed the people actually falling on banana peels, but the mere idea gives a giggle. We end up rolling on floors laughing. And, the idea turns into a big joke when the paragons of beauty and catwalk trip on the picture perfect runways. Shock value makes us chuckle and schadenfreude gossip.

Catwalk slips make an interesting story, where the wretched girl is in tears and the world in smiles. Catwalk is not a cakewalk, it takes a lot of courage to strut laden in wraps of garments, skyscraper stilettoes and scandal sensitive stares.  Model Tinu Verghis says, “Sometimes the ramp feels endless when a simple walk becomes a journey to never land with your leg tangled in metallic baubles or yards of sari getting wrapped around your ankles, or worse, shoes that are ill fitting. Small mess ups are always forgotten in the larger picture. So why worry?”

Every model walking the runway is prone to such trips and slips; it’s a part and parcel of the job. Model Anjhula Singh Bais agrees, “No model coterie is complete without tales of slipping and sliding. It’s an occupational hazard and comes along with the territory. Multiple factors contribute to the situation, namely the surface and texture of the runway meeting the type of shoe and platform one walks in. I have worn 8 inch heels on pebbles and have walked through runways in water. Everything is a new experience and the fear of "what could happen" does not get in the way of anything I do, lest of all modeling. Modeling is much much harder than appears on the surface yet I have always felt that the audience is with one not against one. I have seen colleagues fall and I was split between wanting to lend them a hand and help pick them up or keep going on with the show.”

Occasional slips can be comprehended, but recently model Lindsey Wixon took 5 consecutive spills at Naomi Campbell’s Fashion for Relief show at Cannes. Should we chalk it up as an obsessive Freudian slip?  And moreover, does it mean a pink slip? Tinu sarcastically says, “May be the most interesting thing about the show in Cannes was the model tripping. I mean, how many people really watch a fashion show to look at the ingenuity of the clothes? Fashion shows are almost like Cirque de Soleil, in a not so daring way. Misfortunes seem to create more emotional empathy, so why waste prime time news discussing real issue or the beautiful clothes? She further adds, “I do meet young models who are found crying in the back stage because they tripped unceremoniously, I always tell them stories about having gone through worse. When you have a support group, the weight of the situation gets lighter. What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger. I cannot imagine any of the Indian designers using a tripping episode against any of the models from booking them for the shows again. They are far cooler than that. Most of the battles we think we are fighting are with ourselves. A bit of self-confidence is what it takes to ride any storm.”

In fact it’s true to a large extent. Catwalk queen Naomi Campbell’s famous fall while wearing 10 inches Vivienne Westwood heels made her a household name. One pair of those iconic boots is displayed in one of the London’s famous museum and the second is with Naomi. It’s a win-win situation for everybody.  At Miuccia Prada’s Spring 2009 Milan Fashion Week show, when models were crying backstage about falling in those heady heels, designer was enjoying her success. She was found saying that these falls made her show at the fashion week memorable.

Walking ramps in those blinding lights and killing pressure is a duck soup do, but after all modeling is all about braving your scruples and premonitions and go fearlessly. Anjhula narrates one of her such experience, “Once I was walking and my heel broke. The audience gasped yet I arched the foot with the broken heel to the level of the other foot with the heel and continued walking even keel without missing a beat. That is what it’s about, overall performance, not one slip. Shows must keep a pragmatic balance of reality with fantasy.  Ultimately modeling’s essence is performance, art and elegance. Like life, it’s not so much if one falls but if and how fast they pick themselves up.” Model Ushoshi Sengupta also has her say about one such incidence, she utters, “Well tripping rings an alarm. We trip in day to day life, but when on ramp it’s scary. I have done so many shows but still at times i feel – God doesn’t make me trip. Once i was doing a show in Calcutta, i remember, and the ramp was just painted before the show. The girl who was supposed to start the show fell at the first go and the show was stopped and started half an hour later. All I wish to say is its all natural to trip and fall, but professional know how to cover up, and that’s with a smile.”