Introduction to Modelling
Models are one of the most important components of the fashion industry. They serve a crucial purpose; to display and sell products and services. There are multiple facets of Fashion Modelling and the three main categories include:
Commercial Modelling
E-commerce Modelling
High Fashion Editorial/Runway Modelling
All three of these categories require a different set of skills, artistry, and look. Commercial modelling does not usually demand the same strict requirements specified for high fashion models. Commercial models are generally given more leeway in terms of height, body type, and hair colour, etc. Commercial models can be featured on television, magazines, billboards, websites and newspapers.
E-commerce models are strictly your models featured on a fashion labels website. This style of modelling is a lot more fast-paced and generally includes a multitude of collections and pieces to shoot in one day. It requires a more experienced model who understands and grasps the concept of working with garments, featuring the best angles to showcase the product.
Finally, High Fashion Editorial/Runway Modelling is known as the most prestigious category of modelling and these models are commonly the highest paid and work for the biggest and most sought-after brands in the fashion industry. High Fashion Models have a strict height requirement of 175cm and over for females and 180cm and over for males. They also have specified measurements and looks. High fashion models are featured on runways, billboards, magazines and campaign imagery. They can certainly be described as the all-rounders of the industry and are expected to have perfected each of their skill sets, as well as a more complex set of skills.
Hashtag Strategies and gaining followers organically
Hashtags help users and brands to discover your content and optimises the reach of your post(s).
Every time you include a hashtag in your caption or posts comments, it becomes discoverable in the hashtags search results along with anyone else using the same hashtag.
For example, if you are an influencer with pets or run a pet store and use #petstore, #lovemypet, or any other pet related hashtag, people will see your post in the most recent posts section, resulting in more discovery (likes, comments and followers).
If the post(s) receives a lot of engagement, it gets featured in the top posts section anywhere between 1 to 12 hours!
The strategy for using hashtags is always changing due to the algorithm changing so frequently, but this next method is a foolproof way to ensure you get some extra discoverability and engagement.
Skyscraper Hashtag Strategy:
On Instagram, you want to find a list of 15 niche related hashtags which you can pull from each time you want to post. Let’s break these 15 hashtags down into groups of 5.
Group 1 - Popular Niche Hashtags x 5
These should be 5 big hashtags which have 100x the amount of followers you have in uploaded posts. Don’t get these confused with popular hashtags such as #love and #fitness which have a ton of spam and won’t bring any results.
For example, if you have 2,000 followers, you are looking for hashtags that have over 200,000+ post uploads. If you are a female travel blogger, a great hashtag would be https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/sheisnotlost/
The idea with these hashtags is to rank in the top posts, which will drive a lot of traffic as they are frequently searched.
Group 2 - Niche Hashtags x 5
Next up you want to find 5 hashtags with 50x the amount of followers you have. With the hashtags you find, they will be used primarily for ranking in top posts more easily, but also optimising your reach through being found in the hashtags recent posts section.
Group 3 - Niche-Specific Hashtags x 5
Finally, find 5 hashtags which have 25x the amount of followers you have.
These are your really niche specific hashtags and will take the longest to find. But are totally worth the engagement they will return as they are less populated and give your posts more time to be found.
You should find that you easily will rank for the top post positions here and also remain in the recent posts for longer periods of time, as fewer users will be uploading content with these hashtags.
Introduction to Catwalk
Runway is a complete league of its own. Talents require mastering other forms of modelling and also a completely different set of expertise. Models will also be required to have a specific set of physical attributes, one of course being the height requirement and another interesting one being facial symmetry.
Female high fashion runway models are usually between 175cm–188cm. Runway models particularly require height as they need to remain visible to the public on the catwalk during the shows. Runway models are also restricted to defined measurements as they are usually wearing sample pieces, therefore the same garment will need to fit a multitude of bodies.
With every model maintaining the same measurements, it makes it much more feasible for brands to shoot the same dress in a magazine as well as use the same dress on the runway. Catwalk can take years and years to perfect. Some important tips to take note of would be to firstly perfect your posture. This begins with activating your core and the muscles that surround your spine. Shoulders must be down at all times as well as slightly pulled back. The lines and angles studied for photoshoots must also be implemented into your catwalk. Over crossing your legs as you walk will give a more favourable, longer, leaner line to the garments. Understanding the features of the garment and how to display them, as mentioned previously is also essential when walking.
Please feel free to research your favourite supermodels walks. Once you find a walk you would like to resemble, continue to examine the details of the movement. Practice imitating the walk and be sure to make it your own!