Walk the Runway Like a Pro

America's Next Top Model's Miss J teaches a reporter a thing or two
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 12, 2009 12:07 PM CST
Walk the Runway Like a Pro
J. Alexander arrives at the 2009 Teen Choice Awards held at Gibson Amphitheatre on August 9, 2009 in Universal City, California.   (Getty Images)

J. Alexander—otherwise known as Miss J, the 6’4" drag-dressing America’s Next Top Model judge—has been coaching models on how to rock the runway for almost 20 years. Cathy Horyn of the New York Times takes a lesson and offers a few tips:

  • Develop your own style: Carmen Kass has the bust shake; Naomi Campbell has the leg kick.
  • Stand up straight: He begins analyzing Horyn’s stride with “Well, first of all, you walk like your back hurts.”

  • Focus on you: “It’s all about you. It’s about Cathy,” Miss J says. A passer-by isn’t a distraction, “she’s just the girl you are passing on the runway.”
  • Don’t overshadow the main event: “If your walk is too extreme, you don’t see the clothes.”
  • Be elegant: “Always start from the bottom, it creates a cleaner line.”
  • Keep a cool gaze: “Here’s the face that you want,” he says, looking calm even while thinking, “I hate my teeth, I hate the world today. I’m getting paid 10 grand. I’m starving. I want a sandwich.”
(More Jay-ZTV stories.)

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