walk this way

What makes a runway walk different from any other walk? As the gaggle of foreign teens in town to compete in tomorrow's Ford Supermodel of the World competition learned, it comes down to a steely gaze, a sizable dose of attitude, and as little upper-body movement as possible. The girls (each a representative of her respective country) have been put through a whirlwind of fittings, photo shoots, and castings since arriving this past weekend. We were on hand to witness runway coach Mac Folkes lead the girls in their walking lessonsa difficult task, given that everyone spoke a different language. Folkes touched on everything from facial expression ("stop giving me 'scared bird'!"), to balance, foot placement, and hand control ("no lobster claws!"). Also there was Eileen Ford, who opined on everything from one contestant's ill-fitting stilettos to some saucy similarities between this upcoming runway show and a certain lingerie retailer's catwalk extravaganza. Whether or not each girl taps into her inner Gisele before Wednesday night remains to be seen. They might want to take the advice of Miss Korea, who stomped down the catwalk like a seasoned pro and earnestlynoted that a great walk should come "from the heart!"



podcasts