Walk the Runway Like a Pro

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.)