Model Watch

You know they say that exercising our brains regularly is as good as working out in the gym and stuff? I strongly adhere to that.

In fact, I don't bother exercising my body at all, instead, I exercise my brain as much as I can.

Tanong ng mg Khmer (according to Fuschsiaboy): And den haw?

I watch Fashion TV (or that crappy local Chic Channel, which is always TWO seasons late!). We all know that I'm totally engrossed with runway shows.

Aside from the designs, I closely watch the models. I memorize their names. I note every girl who comes out on the runway.

A few days ago, our Japanese intern and I were watching Chic Chanel and she noticed how I was uttering the models' names to my self. And then she asked me what I was doing; I retorted I'm exercising my brain.

Sometimes I cannot catch up with all the new girls spewed by the runways every season. I had to print the faces of the fresh models, I stick them on my bedroom wall, and try as hard as I can to match the face with the name.

I am not joking.

With my familiarity with some of the models, I would immediately recognize who is coming out of the runway just based on their walk.

In the present crop of models, there are some notable runway divas who have a signature walk. The really good ones stand out.

For me, I love them as fierce as they can get. I want them stomping down the catwalk like crazy. I want their personalities to come out.

Of course, an important part of the model's job is also to bring out the best of the clothes they're wearing. They have to embody the mood of the dress: flirty, morose, urban, carefree, etc. A model has only a few seconds to walk down the runway. With that given time, she has to tell a story about the clothes, the way she sees them. It's like acting in many ways.

And like actors, there are mediocre ones and there are those who stand out (not everybody can be Meryl Streep, you know).

Below is a compilation of the Top 10: Best Catwalkers/Models by Zacatecas570. It's his list of course. I agree with most of the models he included in the video though.

Please take time to watch this so you'd understand what it takes to be a top runway diva.

I totally like this list.

Karmen and Mariacarla are runway legends. But both of them are not regularly on the runways anymore.

Coco and Vlada are some of the stronger walkers in the current crop of models.

Natasha is of course the queen of the runway these days. She is simply sensational. I couldn't think of anyone else on the top spot.

I wonder why Snejana and Caroline (she of jumping-in-every-Vogue-issue fame) are in this list though. They almost always appear dead on the catwalk anyway. I couldn't care so much for Gisele, Isabeli, and Irina either.

I would've wanted to see Sasha Pivavorova, Tanya Dziahileva, Viviane Orth, Alyona Osmanova, and the mesmerizing Anja Rubrik on the list as well.

So why the interest in fashion, you may ask. A lot of people do not understand this because they think it is a shallow pursuit, instead of say, politics, economics, or who knows what else.

But really, fashion is fantasy. It does not pretend to be profound or that it can solve some of the deepest philosophical conundrums in life.

Instead, fashion simply magnifies luxury and opulence and the beauty of creativity. It may be frivolous to some, but it inspires millions of people as well.

Every time I open a magazine or watch fashion shows, it brings me to another world. I froth in the mouth. My heart beats faster. My imagination runs wild.

It's like reading a novel or watching movies in which for a moment we are transported to a different experience.

We each have our own way of escaping this grim world. For me, monitoring fashion does it. Besides, I need it to exercise my brain, right?

Photo Credit: Style.com