I was a sailor on one of the first Navy ships to have women serve on board. One evening I was hanging out with some other guys in the machine shop when a cute girl came through, back from her evening out on the town. She was nicely dressed in civilian clothes, and as she passed by we all took in the sight. She strutted past with a smile on her face. When she reached the hatch at the other end of the compartment, she caught her foot and fell right to the deck. Hilarity ensued. Runway model fails are pretty much the same thing.
Beautiful, important, and serious people have long been the target of physical comedy. Runway models delicately perched on high heels are primed to be brought down to earth. There are some lessons to be found.
It’s all about the ankles.
If you are beginning to fall, and want to be even funnier, struggle to maintain your balance for a really long time, recover, and then fall.
While most models try to recover instantly, you can also get to an awkward balancing pose, and hold it there for comic effect.
This one is simple and direct. Catch the foot, big key pose, go down,
If you fall once, falling a second time isn’t funny. You have to go all the way to 3 or more falls. Single falls are best when the model drops completely off the stage and disappears.
Or, like this woman, wear a giant headdress and appear to vanish under its weight.
Seriously, just look at these shoes. What monster designed those?
If you fall, having a cute smile and laughing at yourself about it is the best way to look less stupid. Just own it.
This savage literally steps over the body of a fallen comrade sprawled on the runway.
Here is probably the best compilation of runway model fails.