I remember when I decided I wanted to model, wearing heels was NOT my thing at all!! I am 5ft11 so I really did not see the need to look taller than that but I wanted to go into something that required I wore HIGH heeled shoes and to make it worse, I had to walk perfectly well with it. I remember thinking to myself “what in the world am I going to do”.
I am sure some of you are in this situation right now and struggling with it but I’ll share with you how I got out of the mess
First I had to learn how to walk comfortably in high heels and then learn how to perfect my runway walk (finding a good runway walk).
So first of all, I bought this high-heeled shoes and asked my friend to try walking in it to be sure that even if it was high, it was generally a comfortable shoe. You know there are some ridiculous high-heeled shoes specially made to make everyone fall *le sigh*. Anyways, this new shoe was my practice shoe.
Then, I made the decision to walk every evening in my shoes using the corridor of my hostel or if it was too late, inside my room. At first, my friend will walk in hers and then I will try to walk in mine. It was actually fun.
Also, I went on youtube and searched for video tutorials on how to walk in high heels and I found them really helpful.
I started getting better. I asked other models in the agency to put me through and before every show, I’ll show them how I planned on walking and they’ll either approve or make changes.
All these helped me to improve and I hope it helps you too.
When you get the chance to walk on a runway, here are a few runway rules that you should keep in mind:
left to right: Elsa, Shola, Damilola, Aminat and Kemi
Designer: Bridget Awosika at Arise fashion week 2012
1. Keep your body in an upright position when walking. Shoulders straight and not bent. No one came to see a hunched over model.
2. Focus your eyes on something straight ahead. Don’t look down or look up to the ceiling(nothing is there , don’t worry I checked.lol)
3. Keep your lips relaxed. No pouting or doing some funny movements with them. Just keep them natural. If you have to smile, smile a little, like a sexy smirk .
4. Its not about you but about the dress. So don’t go on the runway making moves asides catwalking UNLESS the designer asks you to do so. This is important! you don’t want to mess with a designer.
5. Your arms must swing naturally. Do not swing them too much unless you want to look really funny.
6. When walking, try to place each foot infront of the other and take longer strides than you normally do with your everyday walk but not too much that you fall. Find a good balance. Always keep to the tempo by walking to the music or walking like you’ve been asked to during the rehearsal.
Leftto right: Damilola and Chika
7. When you get to the end of the runway, strike a pose and count up to 3 0r 4 in your head before you either strike another pose or walk back. This is important because the photographers in front have to get a good picture of you and the outfit.
The pose should not be all dramatic unless ofcourse the designer wants that but you still have to avoid looking funny. It should be elegant, striking and your face must be stunning. What I do sometimes is before I get on the runway, I check out the outfit using a mirror backstage and try to work out a perfect pose that would make the outfit elegant and make me look elegant. With time, you will develop various end of the runway poses.
models from Glitz Magazine Fashion Week 2012 Ghana
8. BE CONFIDENT, BE CONFIDENT….. BE CONFIDENT!!! Walking on the runway requires you to possess confidence and have the right attitude. If you lack both, TRUST ME..everyone will notice and we sure as hell don’t want that.
Remember practice does make perfect. If you keep doing it , you’ll eventually get better at it.
See you Next Wednesday
yours truly,
THE MODEL
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