Complete Guide to Fashion Modelling

Fashion modelling is pretty much the exact type of modelling you think of when you hear the word model. It comprises both runway modelling and catalogue or print modelling. In nutshell, it’s modelling that — you guessed it — promotes fashion of any kind. As you can imagine, there is a huge demand for good fashion models as there are so many different companies and brands that produce products that would fall into the fashion niche.

And the good news is that this isn’t going to change anytime soon. In fact, fashion modelling is one of the busiest niches of modelling and it’s growing at an exponential rate each and every year. After all, clothes will always be in fashion, right? Okay, that’s the one pun in this guide out of the way so let’s crack on.

If you have ever dreamed about becoming a model and don’t know where to start, then fashion modelling is your best option. This is the niche that the vast majority of would-be models first break into unless they are interested in something niche such as hand modelling or even fitness modelling. It is also the niche with the most briefs which means more opportunities for aspiring models that want to land their first modelling gig.

In this guide, we’re going to discuss everything there is to know about working as a fashion model. From what it takes to become one to the kind of preparation needed before working on a shoot — this is everything you need to know about fashion modelling.

What is a fashion model?

A fashion model is a model that clients use to promote anything that could be described as fashion. This means clothing, accessories, and shoes — if it’s been designed to be worn anywhere on your body or to accessorise your outfit, then a fashion model will promote it. For this reason, a client will look at a fashion model’s overall appearance and not just a specific aspect of their appearance as they would with a hand model or makeup model.

Here at Hunter, we firmly believe that anyone no matter their size, shape, age, or cultural background can be a model. Thankfully, the industry has changed a lot in recent years and more and more fashion houses and big brands are starting to embrace diversity. This means that we’re seeing more briefs for plus-sized models and even older male models than ever before which is amazing.

So yes, anyone can be a fashion model. That said, there are far more briefs for fashion models that fall within certain height and weight ranges. This is because fashion houses will create outfits in general easy-to-adjust sizes and look for models that will fit the clothes as opposed to making clothes that fit the models.

This is particularly true for runway models as the fast-paced nature of runway shows means that alterations to outfits should be kept to a minimum so models can jump from one look to another as quickly as possible.

With this in mind, the general requirements for fashion models are as follows:

Female models – 5’8” or taller weighing around 59kg or less

Male models – 6’ or taller weighing around 77kg or less

But don’t for a second think that those are hard and fast rules. If you want to work exclusively on the runway, then yes, you’ll find it quite difficult to land modelling gigs if you’re outside of those ranges unless you are specifically working as a plus sized model.

However, for general fashion modelling, while those ranges are ideal, you can still land print work if you’re shorter or heavier than the requirements. Just bear in mind that as there will be fewer assignments without those basic requirements, you may have longer breaks between modelling jobs.