Walks & Poses – As seen in Runway Magazine Oct 08

Choosing the right poses for your outfit on the runway, in my opinion, is as important as choosing the right skin, hair or shoes.

Personally I prefer animated poses on the runway as they look smooth and flow well, giving you a more professional look. When I say animated poses I don’t mean AO poses that continually move, rather they are animated while moving into the final static pose.

As models we show off clothes for a designer, we are effectively a moving mannequin and it’s important to remember this when choosing poses.

Some poses twist the torso/limbs in turn distorting the texture on the garment. A designer has spent many hours, sometimes weeks working on the texture and will expect their designs to be shown to their best.

Try to avoid poses that make your body look unnatural. Tip toe poses not only look silly also unrealistic, how many real life models do you see posing on tip toes on the runway? Some poses will twist your avatars limbs and torso leaving rough bumpy edges that look totally unnatural. Arm over head poses (armpit poses) are a good example of this, as they tend to leave your shoulders looking rough with jagged edges. As a professional model I don’t like exposing my armpits on the runway, it doesn’t look natural (even if I have shaved…) and some agencies will specifically ask their models not to use them.

It is essential to make sure that you’re hands are not covering an important part of the design. If the garment has an intricate pattern on the torso make sure your arms/hands are not covering this and that it’s not distorted by the pose. Also ensure your hands are not sinking into a garment and that your legs are not poking through a prim skirt – make sure your legs are hidden completely inside the skirt. You wouldn’t see legs poking through a skirt or hands sinking into the body on a real life runway, so remember natural poses!

Choose poses to compliment the outfit, if you are wearing a formal gown find poses that are sophisticated, elegant and appropriate for a gown, a pose that shows attitude for example will not suit. Alternatively if you are modeling an urban/alternative outfit an attitude pose might suit better.

There are many different walks available but not all are suited to the runway. When choosing a runway walk think carefully about how it looks from the front, back and side, as the audience will view you from all angles. Some walks look great from the front and back but can look unnatural from the side, and vice versa. Avoid fast walks or walks that wiggle your hips too much, choose one that looks realistic, one that you could imagine on a real life runway.

Check out some of these links…

Some of my favourite animated poses and walks are from Maitreya, designed by the very talented Beauvoir Rousselot.

Luth Brodie of Real Expression is an exceptional pose designer and another favourite of mine. She specialises in modelling poses and has recently added/updated some super animated poses too.

Torridwear by Torrid Midnight is another firm favourite.

LAP – Long Awkward Pose by Dove Swanson have some lovely animated poses.