Meet Wanmai Bergman, The Thai Model Who Made Her Miu Miu Debut At 43

When Wanmai Bergman strode down the Miu Miu runway at Paris Fashion Week earlier this month, wearing a printed crop top trimmed with flowers and a drawstring waistband skirt, it was something of a full-circle moment. It was the 43-year-old’s first time on a major runway – but the realisation of a dream that took hold when she was 20.

At the time, Bergman was modelling in Thailand, but her anxiety and insecurities around her appearance – which she traces back to being bullied at school because of her height – took over, and ultimately she chose to leave the industry behind. “I never had the courage to be completely myself,” she says. “Physically, I was on the runway, but emotionally, I was still that scared, insecure little girl.” Walking away from that burgeoning career was her “greatest regret”, she says. “But I never set that dream aside.” Returning to the runway in her forties – and at Paris Fashion Week, no less – felt life affirming. “Sometimes others see something in you that you’ve forgotten was there.”

Wanmai was born on Koh Phangan, the small Thai island where she still lives with her husband and their three children. She studied accounting in Bangkok, and after that brief stint as a model, devoted herself to her own business – the resort she owns and manages on the island. Still, she says: “I had given up my modelling career, but I never put aside the dream of returning to it.” Now that her dream has been rekindled thanks to Mrs Prada, she’s hoping to keep going.

“I was much taller than the other Thai girls,” Wanmai remembers now. “Wherever I went, everyone stared at me as if I were strange or different. I felt like an alien in their eyes.” When the opportunities to model came along, “I could have tapped into my potential”, she says. “But the truth is, I couldn’t do it – I didn’t have the courage to be completely myself… I was constantly afraid of being judged.” Even as Bergman pursued a different career and ultimately started her family, “I’ve always wanted another chance… I wanted to return to the runway, to do what I hadn’t had the courage to fully pursue when I was younger. But I never thought this opportunity would come. I live on a small island light years away from the fashion world.”

In the end, it was a guest staying at Bergman’s Thai resort who noticed her potential and encouraged her to give modelling another try. “Honestly, I burst out laughing when he said that,” she says, smiling. Still, she took his advice, and her second stab at breaking into the industry led to a casting call in Paris – then joining Gigi Hadid and Olivia Colman backstage at Miu Miu. “I’ll always be grateful to that person who encouraged me to give it another try.”

On show day, “I gave it my all,” she says. “And right after the show, I felt a sense of happiness, pride and freedom. I had finally done what my younger self had been afraid to do. Miu Miu was more than just a debut for me – it was the moment when I finally let go of my fears and allowed myself to shine.”

Having let go of her own fears, Bergman is hoping her story will encourage other women who worry they’re too late to pursue a dream. “Today, at 43, I feel strong and confident in who I am. Age never marks the end of a dream. Sometimes it can be the beginning of a beautiful new chapter. I used to be afraid of being seen. Today, I’m no longer afraid to shine.”