How to Walk the Runway Like a Model: Catwalk Tutorial

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Modeling agent Traci Halvorson explains how to look confident and poised on the runway

Co-authored by Traci Halvorson and Dan Hickey

Last Updated: December 31, 2025 Fact Checked

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• Facial Expression & Posture
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• Walking the Runway
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• Practice Tips
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• Attitude Inspiration
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• Types of Walks
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• Video
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• Expert Q&A
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• Tips

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When a runway model walks, they exude confidence and charisma. It might seem like some people are just born to catwalk, but the truth is, it’s an art that takes practice—and you can do it to! In this article, modeling agent Traci Halvorson and branding, etiquette, and image consultant Kate Heussler share what it takes to stomp the runway like a catwalk queen (or king!), from mastering your facial expression to perfecting your strut and more.

How do you walk like a model?

Modeling agent Traci Halvorson says to stand up straight and walk with your shoulders back to project confidence. Let your hips sway with the rhythm of your walk, and maintain a neutral facial expression with your eyes fixed on something ahead of you. Shift your weight to one hip to pose at the end of the runway.

Steps

Section 1 of 5:

Setting Your Facial Expression & Posture

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   Angle your chin slightly down and keep your mouth closed in a natural position. Pretend you have an invisible string attached to the top of your head that’s holding you up, then let your chin drop just slightly to let the audience see more of your face. This will also add an angle to your face and lend you a little bit of attitude.

   • Go for a neutral, stoic facial expression (no smiles) so you don’t distract the audience from the clothes you’re wearing.
   • If your lips slightly part naturally, you don't have to force your lips closed. The goal is to look natural.

   Meet the wikiHow Experts

   Traci Halvorson is a modeling agent, former model, and owner of Halvorson Model Management in San Jose, California. With over 25 years of experience, she specializes in scouting, managing, advising, and launching modeling careers.

   Kate Heussler is a branding, etiquette, and image consultant based in Sydney, Australia, and founder of The Institute of Modelling. She has over 20 years of experience across the fashion, corporate, beauty, and wellness sectors.
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   Keep your eyes focused on something ahead of you. When it comes to making a good supermodel facial expression, the emphasis is on the eyes and eyebrows. Keep your eyes fixed on a point, and do not look around you. Stay concentrated on where you are going, and look alert and at attention. Focus on something that gives you purpose, and it will show in your eyes.

   • It may be tempting to make eye contact with someone in the audience; however, hold your facial expression and avoid eye contact.
   • Be careful not to trip as you are walking. You can occasionally check your walk with your eyes to keep yourself balanced and confident.
   • Use a mirror or a friend to double-check how your look comes across. Try different looks until you find one that looks fierce but still feels natural.
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   Stand up straight with a tall, confident posture. Halvorson says, “We always tell beginner models to stand up straight. Look forward, have confidence in doing this, and be present.” Imagine that there is an invisible string holding you up from your spine to the top of your head. Keep your shoulders slightly back, and stand up as straight as you can. This posture sells the model presence the most, even if you are not actually tall like a model.

   • Keep your body loose; you don’t have to be stiff to stay tall. Practice appearing comfortable while walking tall in front of a mirror to see if you look natural.
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Section 2 of 5:

Walking the Runway

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   Place one foot in front of the other and walk with long strides. Imagine that you are walking on a rope by keeping one foot in front of the other (this makes it easier to let your hips swing from side to side in that classic model way). As you strut forward, project confidence with your walk: “If you look scared or nervous, people can read your face. So walk with your shoulders back, have confidence, make eye contact, and look like you're happy to be there,” Halvorson explains.

   • If you are doing male modeling, you do not have to place one foot directly in front of the other; instead, you can walk more naturally with your feet placed more side by side.
   • Halvorson adds, “It's a much more casual walk for the guys. It's like a cool stroll down the street.”
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   Let your hips sway with the rhythm of your walk. “You do need to use your hips,” Halvorson says. “I say that because just standing straight on is not flattering.” Walk at a medium pace with a consistent rhythm and let your hips naturally swing and glide (this gives your walk a bit of personality and helps control your feet and legs).

   • Try not to go overboard with swinging your hips, though. You don't have to be afraid of letting your hips move, but don’t exaggerate the motion intentionally.
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   Allow your arms to hang at your sides, and keep your hands relaxed. Let your arms hang and swing only slightly. This will make you look cool and composed as you walk down the catwalk. Likewise, keep your hands relaxed so that they’re loosely cupped and slightly open with a small gap between your fingers.

   • Don't make your arms too stiff; let them bend and sway slightly with your body.
   • Try not to move your hands too much or ball them up, as this will make you appear nervous.
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   Strike your pose at the end of the runway, then walk back. Once you get to the end of the walk, wait a beat, and then lean onto one hip with all of your confidence and poise. Avoid leaning forward toward the crowd: “What you do is you kind of suck in your stomach, hold your shoulders back, and you put your bum to the back of the room,” Halvorson suggests. You can look down at the audience and break your focus for a moment. You don't have to move your head much—your look should come mostly from the eyes.

   • Consider opening your stance slightly when you pose. This makes it easier and more graceful to turn around and begin walking back.
   • After you pose, maintain your same, stoic facial expression as before and walk back down the runway. Don’t break your expression or posture until you’re off stage.
   • When you’re in front of an audience, nervousness can make a few seconds seem much longer. Get used to holding your pose for a couple of seconds in the mirror so that you have muscle memory to rely on.
   

   Gigi Hadid, Model & Fashion Influencer

   Modeling takes practice and hard work. “When I started, I was the worst on the runway. I try to keep learning every time I step off a runway and get better with each one. I have mentors that have taught me, and I’m still trying to get better today.”
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Section 3 of 5:

Catwalk Practice Tips

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1. 
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   Practice walking with your heels on. No catwalk strut is complete without a tall pair of heels to give you height, but it can take some getting used to. “I tell the girls, put on high heels in your house, turn on some music, and walk up and down all the types of floors,” Halvorson says. “Whether you have carpet, hardwood, or a backyard, use your cement, use the grass. You need to walk in your heels on all different types of floors. Strike proposes, turn around, and come back.” Put on your heels in the morning while you are getting ready. Strut around to get used to walking like a model and walking in high heels at the same time.

   • Male models should also practice walking in a variety of different shoes, according to Halvorson: “When you're in shows, usually your designers provide the shoes. Get out of your comfort zone a little bit and not walk in your everyday shoes, whatever that means for the guy.”
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   Get a rhythm down, and keep it consistent with your step. Listen to music with a strong beat that has an attitude you like while you’re practicing strutting with your heels on. Try to concentrate on the attitude that you want to project, and sustain that look for as long as you can while walking. If you can put a rhythm and attitude in your step, your walk will come to life and exude a fantastic supermodel energy.

   • Think flirty and confident as you step to a rhythm.
   • When you are on the catwalk, imagine the music that puts you in your groove and follow that groove.
   • While you are stepping to the beat, remember to keep your shoulders back and body composed in the posture of a supermodel.
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   Work with a modeling coach to perfect your strut. “If you've never done a catwalk before, you do need lessons,” Heussler explains. “If you're going into an agency, they generally provide these as an onboarding orientation because they need to know what you're like before they send you out into the wild to clients. So, they will do runway lessons. Otherwise, hunt down a model coach.”

   • Search for runway walk classes or coaches in your city. Some modeling agencies offer classes or coaching, and there are often independent coaches in major industry cities like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, or Atlanta.
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Section 4 of 5:

Catwalk Attitude Inspiration

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1. 
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   Be a predator on the runway like Karlie Kloss. Make your walk down the runway more swift by quickly bringing your knees up slightly more than normal and keeping one foot in front of the other. This should create a jaunty step in your walk. Put more swing in your hips because your walk is faster. Your arms will also swing from side to side more. Gently move your head back and forth with the movement of your body as you strut down the catwalk.

   • Watch Karlie stomp in this YouTube video from FASHION RUNWAY.
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   Strut with attitude down the catwalk like Naomi Campbell. Pump your legs up and down in deliberate steps down the catwalk with determination and attitude. Let your body bounce up and down as you walk. Your shoulders will move slightly up and down too. Because you have more motion, you will swing your hips more. Let your hands bounce and fling back and forth (or however they naturally move with your walk). Keep your head ever so slightly tilted to one side and only slightly move with your shoulders as you walk.

   • Watch Naomi strut in this YouTube video from FASHION RUNWAY.
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   Make your walk a march like Sasha Pivovarova. With this walk, your arms are almost still at your sides as you walk. Your feet do not go quite as much one in front of the other as the traditional catwalk strut; instead, they stay more side-by-side. Gently stomp your way down the walkway, but keep your body mostly still and composed. Do not move your head or arms much. Think “calm and determined” as you walk.

   • Check out Sasha’s iconic walk in this YouTube video from Fashion Lust.
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Section 5 of 5:

Types of Runway Walks

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1. 
   Runway walks can be editorial, commercial, or for pageants. “There are different types of runways,” according to Heussler. “So, fashion editorial runways—think of Paris, Milan, New York. Then there are commercial runways—think Miami Swim Week, Melbourne Fashion Weeks, those sorts of ones.” Commercial runways often feature ready-to-wear clothes and a neutral walk, while editorial runways incorporate haute couture garments and may have highly stylized walks, extra poses, or other theatrics on the runway.

   • “Then you've got what's called Pasarela, which is your runway for pageants,” Heussler adds. “It's not fashion, it's not editorial, and it's not commercial; it's more for entertainment. The moves I'm seeing now lean more towards it being very sexy and alluring, whereas back in the day, it was still very elegant and demure.”

Expert Q&A

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• Question

  How can I get more confident in high heels?

  

  Traci Halvorson
  Modeling Agent

  Traci Halvorson is a Modeling Agent, Former Model, and the Owner of Halvorson Model Management (HMM) in San Jose, California. HMM is a full-service, licensed talent agency representing over 300 professional models and actors. With over 25 years of experience in the modeling industry, Traci specializes in scouting, managing, advising, and launching modeling careers in the Bay Area. Traci holds a BA in Public Relations & Business Management from San Jose State University and also specializes in Marketing, Image consulting, and is a certified Life-Career Coach.

  

  Traci Halvorson

  Modeling Agent

  Expert Answer

  Practice at home! Put on some high heels, turn on some music, and walk up and down all types of floors. For example, you might walk on carpet and hardwood inside, and on grass and cement outside. As you walk, practice striking a pose, turning around, and coming back.

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• Question

  What should I do with my facial expression while walking?

  

  Community Answer

  You should focus your eyes straight ahead and hold your mouth naturally. You don't want your facial expressions to detract from the clothes you are modeling.

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  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

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• Question

  How do I control my nerves?

  

  Community Answer

  Think of it as just a nice walk and do some yoga breathing before you go on.

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  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

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The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.

• Exude confidence when you walk! Confidence is one of the most important things that helps you look like a model.
• Record yourself walking. Then, compare your walk to how other models walk to see where you can improve.

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