How to Practice Runway Walk at Home: Beginner’s Guide for Male Models & Fashion Training

A runway walk looks effortlessly beautiful but in reality it takes a model years after years just to maintain the posture, rhythm, balance and style required while walking. While professional training is ideal, it is not a necessity. You can easily practice your runway walk at home by following some professional videos or by reading some blogs.

Remember that practice is more important than a professional trainer. In this blog we will tell you about the essential techniques which are simple and beginner friendly and will help you understand the foundation of model runway walk and how to practice it effectively in your own space whether your dream is to become a model or simply to become someone poised and who is presence can be easily noticed this guide will give you a solid starting point for mastering the runway walk from scratch.

Can Anyone Practice Runway Walk At Home? 

Of course one can easily practice runway walk at home. Here are the guidelines you need to follow to walk easily on the runway .

• Setting up your home runway: 

First, find a clear space. A long hallway works the best. Now to create a runway ,place a strip of masking tape down the centre of the hallway and mark it as the line you will walk on.

This is the line you will walk on, setting one foot after another following the straight line created by the masking tape. To observe your posture, facial expression and movement,  place a tall mirror at one end of the line. You can also play music to recreate the run wave environment as model runway walk shows have music that guide the tempo, so practicing to walk to a song with a strong consistent beat will help you master the art of pacing.

 

• Posture and gaze:

Keep your posture straight and upright. By elongating and straightening your back you can easily make your body look longer. It makes your body look tighter and more composed. It will make you look like a powerful visual. Pull your shoulder back, keeping it straight.

Balance this with a firm, powerful gaze to not look stiff and uncomfortable. As for the gaze, keep your head up and your eyes must focus on a particular point while walking so that you can walk straight. Don’t look at your feet, it will make you stumble. Your chin should be roughly parallel to the floor or can be faced slightly down. Maintain a neutral expression and do not smile too much. And try to keep your facial muscles as much relaxed as possible so that you look confident.

• Stride and movements:

Try to walk in a straight line. Place one of your feet directly in the front of the other one keeping your legs close to each other. Walk in a consistent rhythm which will give your hips a slide’s way and personality as well as help you control the gliding of your feet and legs. Keeping mind that it is not a race to the end of the runway nor is it a slow tortoise race. So practice accordingly.

Learn to walk according to a proper rhythm so that your hands and feet co-ordinate with each other. Make your walking steps longer than your normal walking style but still natural and not awkward. This will help you look more confident and determined during the runway walk. Keep your weight on the balls of your feet landing on the ball of your foot first then your heel try to keep most of your weight on the balls of your feet so that you can glide smoothly. Keep your arms relaxed. Let your arms swing naturally. Don’t make them look stiff and keep your fingers naturally straight during the model runway walk. 

• Facial Expression:

Facial expression is another important part of a runway walk. So it is very important to keep your facial expression accordingly so that you look confident. Your facial expressions should convey the mood of the collection. It could be serene, fierce or playful. Practice to keep yourself focused without looking directly at any of the audience. Your runway walk style should be as such that the whole focus of the audience should be on the clothes you’re wearing, so use subtle expressions to avoid distracting them.

• Pose and turn:

In a runway walk posing and turning is very important. So , remember to stop and pose at the end of the runway. Remember to pause briefly for about 2 to 3 seconds and strike a pose while shifting your weight on to one of your legs. The pose should showcase your outfit to the photographers and the viewers.

Then you can turn on the ball of your pivot foot in a fluid motion. During this time your face should be the last part to turn away from the audience. 

While walking back, walk with confidence and energy while maintaining your posture and pace.

Essential tips

There are some very important tips that every model should follow which would help them in practicing the runway walk at home 

• Always try to practice walking in a character. It means to walk according to the mood and outfit. 
• Watch various videos of famous professional models. Try to notice their poses, posture, facial expressions, walking styles etc. Seeing their runway walk videos will always help and inspire you. These videos will help you a lot in improving your runway walk.
• To maintain the balance during the time of practicing your walk try to keep a book balanced on your head.
• Always practice in heels (for female models) and specific outfits because these things will help you to walk comfortably during the runway and help you understand how they affect your movement. Beginners can start with 2-3 inch heels and then later upgrade to 4 to 5 inch runway heels after 2-3 weeks of practicing.
•  Apart from just the walk, confidence is also very important in a runway walk. So to be confident you need to work on your physical as well as mental fitness. For which you can do different kinds of exercises, yoga etc. you can also get yourself engaged in other types of different dance activities like ballet, hip hop, aerobics etc. You can also enroll yourself in Pilates classes.
• Remember that consistency is the key to success so practicing consistently will automatically give you better results than practicing once in a while. Consistency will easily improve your confidence level, your walking posture and poses easily. Here is an easy 10 minute daily runway walk practice routine (for beginners)

 

• Minute 1 – In the first minute of practice, start by holding your posture. This will help you become steady with and balance your poses.

• Minute 2 – in the second minute, practice your feet ‘ placement [on a straight line]. This will help you while turning and walking on the runway.

• Minute 3-5 – During this phase of practice, walk slowly on the runway. This will help you make your steps clearer.

• Minute 6-7 – During this phase of practice, walk with music. Walk on the rhythm of the music. Try to keep your pace with the beats of the music.

• Minute 8-9 – During this time practice turning and posing. This will help you perform flawlessly on the runway. 

• Minute 10 – Now walk on the runway and record yourself using your phone. Not down your faults and places where you need to improve and then work on it accordingly.

 

 

Some Common Runway Mistakes to Avoid

 

 

• Avoid looking down this will make you look stressed and less confident about yourself and your looks.
• Taking big steps. Remember that it is not a marathon you need to complete, instead it’s a runway show so walk according to the rhythm and beat co-ordinate your hand and leg movement.
• Don’t keep your arms too stiff. It may be tempting to swing your arms but remember to keep them under control. Stiff  arms make you look like a robot and evict the fluidity of your movements, making it look miserable.
• Don’t over smile. Smiling too much can distract the viewers’ focus from the clothes to your face. Remember that the primary goal of a model is to be a “walking mannequin” and to showcase the designer’s work. So when a model smiles too much the audience’s attention is drawn towards their face and the personality rather than the government which makes the model look unprofessional and less confident.
• Not walking in a straight line. Professional models always walk in a straight line. Not walking on a straight line disrupts the visual flow and photography of the whole Runway show. It makes you look less professional and increases the risk of tripping or falling which also undermines the show’s mood.
• Don’t bend or sway your shoulders too much. Bending of the shoulders compromises with the balance and strong vertical lines which are essential for showcasing the designers work. Movement in the upper body also compromises with the model’s goal of serving as a moving hanger. It also destroys the creation of an elegant silhouette as slouching or hunching negatively affects the appearance and fit of the garment. It also lowers the professional standard of the model. 
• Avoid doing excessive hip movements. Excessive hit movements can compromise with the posture of the model. It also compromises with the professionalism of the respective model. It also increases injury risks.
• Don’t keep your facial muscles tense. This compromises with the consistency and versatility of a model. It highlights the unprofessionalism of the model.

Correct these mistakes and your walk will instantly look better and more professional.

Conclusion 

Remember that confidence matters. It’s not always mandatory to learn how to walk on the runway from a professional. You can easily learn it in a very less expensive way just from online videos and blogs or simply by watching the walks of famous professional models.

You can easily learn to walk on a runway at home  even with zero experience. You will just need the right poster study practice and a clear understanding of the basic techniques. With these qualities anyone can easily start building the confidence and control needed for a strong walk. Just remember to believe in yourself and you will make it all the way up there in no time. To learn about more modelling tips read more of our blogs.