The Runway Walk

Since I'm a commercial/print model, I rarely do runway and unfortunately do not have photos from one fashion show I did in San Jose a few years ago but the image I've associated with this post serves its purpose.

In order to be a successful fashion/runway model, you have to learn how to walk down a runway. The best advice in a nutshell is to watch fashion shows and take note of the various ways the models walk. No two models walk the same and as you get more experience, you'll be able to own your own style or throw in a little nuance that will set you apart from the other girls.

Of course there are a few basic rules of thumb that every runway model should know:

Posture: There's nothing glamorous about a runway model that is hunched over. Anytime you set foot on that runway, your whole body needs to be upright and alert but not so rigid that you look like a robot. While walking, keep your chin tilted down slightly but not in a way that your whole head is looking down. The audience sits below you during a runway show and you don't want them completely looking up your nose the entire time.

It's all in the eyes: Anytime you watch a fashion show, the model's eyes are always focused straight ahead and rarely look anywhere else. When you're on the runway, find a comfortable spot where you can stare straight ahead and don't let your eyes wander all over the place. Make sure you don't look down! It's a bad habit to continuously look down to see where you're stepping. Try to break this habit and learn how to look ahead while being able to see where your feet are landing. To switch things up a little, when you reach the end of the runway, do your pose and let your eyes slightly look down and make contact with the audience. But do this without your whole head looking down--limit it to the eyes.

Keep your mouth natural: No one expects you to have a full-watt smile from the beginning to the end of the runway and back...this isn't a beauty pageant. Keep your mouth closed and smile naturally, whether it's a sexy smirk or no smile at all. Learn to relax your lips and you'll be fine.

Pay attention to your arms and hands: Your arms should sway naturally as you walk but don't swing them too much or you'll look silly. Keep your arms close to your body so that only your lower arms sway. Your hands and fingers should be relaxed. Don't ball them up or curl them up in any way. This makes for bad photos--you don't want to look like you're missing a couple of fingers. Keep your hands open and your fingers as straight as you can get them without it looking unnatural.

Be mindful of your shoulders: Your shoulders should always stay steady and shouldn't bounce or dip as you walk. Keep your shoulders still but not to a point where it's painful.

Your stride: When walking down the runway, don't take baby steps. To enhance your walk, you'll need to take longer strides than you normally would but avoid overdoing it to the point where you almost fall down. You have to find the perfect medium. Remember in a fashion show, the walk is paced in a certain way so that all the models have a steady tempo to walk to. If you ruin that tempo, it throws everyone off. Place each foot in front of the other as opposed to side-by-side when you normally walk. As you place each foot down in front of the other, allow your hips to sway naturally.

Possess confidence and attitude: There is no way you can fake this on the runway. When you have confidence and attitude, it comes out in your walk and makes you the center of attention. Nothing is more important than having the emotional aspect in check. When you know you've got it, it comes through in an amazing way that all runway models possess.