Quick wins for a faster PC:
Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fashion models often keep a neutral expression because the look can direct attention to the clothes and create a chosen mood—cool, serious, or nonchalant. It is a convention, not a rule: models smile when a show or image calls for a different feeling.
Why do fashion models often look serious?
On a runway, a restrained expression can help keep the audience’s eye on the garment: its shape, movement, and styling. Model Matthieu Villot explained the logic in a 2016 interview with AFP: “They want to show the clothes and not our faces. If we smile we focus attention on our faces and not the clothes.” FashionUnited / AFP
A neutral face can also help establish the atmosphere of a collection. In fashion photography, a barely-there smile may suggest coolness or status rather than friendliness, a convention described by Museum Ludwig. The expression is part of the image’s styling, not simply a model’s default mood.
How does the expression relate to the clothes?
The face, pose, and movement are all part of presenting a look. Model Jean Shrimpton recalled that she initially used the same smile whatever she wore. Photographer John French advised her to relax and project, but not to fall into a memorized expression: “every look, every move must spring from the mood of the clothes she is wearing.” Victoria and Albert Museum
#1 Best Overall
That advice points to the useful distinction: a smile is not inherently wrong for fashion, but it should suit the image. A joyful expression may fit a playful campaign; a still, unsmiling gaze may better support a severe silhouette or a deliberately cool editorial mood.
Is the unsmiling runway look a long-standing rule?
No. Fashion imagery has shifted among formal, commercial, experimental, and more spontaneous styles. The Victoria and Albert Museum’s overview of fashion photography includes a 1938 instruction from Vogue editor Edna Woolman Chase: “Concentrate completely on showing the dress, light it for this purpose and if that can’t be done with art then art be damned. Show the dress”. The statement captures the priority of displaying the garment, though it does not establish that models must avoid smiling. Victoria and Albert Museum
Rank #2
- Used Book in Good Condition
Fashion historian Lydia Kamitsis, speaking in a 2016 AFP report, connected the vogue for expressionless runway models to the early 1980s and the rise of Japanese designers Yohji Yamamoto and Comme des Garçons. That is an attributed interpretation of a changing fashion convention, not a definitive account of its sole origin. FashionUnited / AFP
Do fashion models ever smile?
Yes. Smiling appears when the creative direction calls for warmth, spontaneity, or connection. British Vogue describes Peter Lindbergh’s images of models giggling together as a departure from the formal, heavily made-up fashion imagery of their era. British Vogue The Guardian also documented smiling runway examples in 2017, showing that the serious walk is a recognizable convention rather than a requirement. The Guardian
Rank #3
Is there a statistic on how often models smile?
The cited sources do not establish a reliable statistic for smiles among fashion models. Museum Ludwig discusses a 2015 study of American yearbook portraits, which found that smiling increased over the twentieth century and that women smiled more often than men. Those findings concern student portraits, not runway or fashion photography, so they cannot be used to quantify models’ expressions. Museum Ludwig
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
