The runway, or catwalk, is the raised strip along which models present a collection, ideally without glancing at their feet. Its ancestor was the mannequin parade, developed by the London couturier Lucile, known in society as Lady Duff Gordon, who borrowed the idea straight from the theatre in the years around 1900.
Her showroom had a miniature stage at one end, olive chiffon curtains and specially installed limelights to pick out every detail. The models were given exotic professional names such as Hebe and Dolores and trained by walking for hours with books balanced on their heads. The dresses had names too, poetic and often flirtatious, chosen to match a mood or a client. Museums credit Lucile with helping to create the cult of the professional model, which makes her, indirectly, responsible for every runway walk now replayed frame by frame online.