A model who shows clothes on a runway. Collections are cut to one sample size, so the casting goes to whoever the samples fit without alteration — that is where the height and proportion requirements come from.
The usual figures
From about 175 cm for women and 183 cm for men, though the actual bar is set by the designer for that collection. More important than height is stability of measurements: samples are made in advance, and your body has to match the numbers the agency gave a month ago.
What decides it on the runway
The walk. The face works neutrally so as not to pull attention off the garment, and everything else rests on how you move: one line, a straight vertical, hands at rest. The turn at the end is drilled to automatic, because you will be doing it in unfamiliar shoes to someone else’s rhythm — «The Walk: Runway Basics for Photo Models».
What the day looks like
The show lasts minutes; the day lasts hours — casting, fitting, rehearsal, hair and makeup, waiting. Your exit takes under a minute, and everything else exists to produce that minute.
Collection pieces have their own rules — «Handling Samples: Wardrobe Care on Set».
Fittings
Before the show you are called to a fit, and the designer confirms the line-up on the strength of it. They are scheduled at awkward hours, including the middle of the night, and declining one means declining the show.
How long the career runs
Shorter than most: demand is tied to age and to the season, and five to seven active years counts as normal. Which is why a commercial book is built in parallel — it pays for longer.
