16 Hours With Remi Bader During Her NYFW Debut At PH5’s Show

It’s been 48 hours since her NYFW runway debut, and Remi Bader feels great. “It was such a cool experience, and I feel like I overcame a fear of mine,” she tells Elite Daily. “The designer and the brand were happy, and that’s what mattered to me.”

When PH5 — a contemporary knitwear label she called “the coolest brand I’ve ever seen” when she first saw its clothes two years ago — asked her to walk in their Sept. 8 show, debuting their Spring 2025 collection, she jumped at the opportunity. “There was no way I could say no to that,” the 29-year-old says. “But I was also nervous just because I’ve never done it before.”

Bader says she was nervous for “a month straight” leading up to the show. “Doing something for the first time gives me anxiety and freaks me out, but I know at the same time that means that I’m so excited and need to do it.”

To help boost her confidence around runway walking, she brought in the big guns: supermodel Coco Rocha. The most surprising trick she learned had to do with standing: putting your arms completely back like you’re painting something. “I kept saying to her, ‘I feel like this doesn't look the same on me because I’m shorter or I don't look like you.’” Bader says. “And she said, ‘That’s literally all in your head. You just have to do it.”

I asked a few of the models, ‘What do you think about when you go out?’ They said, ‘Boss *ss b*tch, think about looking ahead and being you.’

The TikTok star also kept the news of her NYFW debut a secret — she didn’t tell all of her friends or post about it on social media until after the fact — something she’s been trying to do more of lately. “I wanted to just have that experience to myself,” she says.

Below, the content creator takes us through her day as she gets glam, walks the runway, and attends the Tommy Hilfiger show.

Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024

6:45 a.m.: I woke up around 6:45. I made sure to get a good night's sleep because I was exhausted the whole week. I was like, I need to cancel my entire night, sleep, and be calm.

I don’t have a big apartment but I practiced walking from my kitchen to a mirror. I did what Coco taught me, and then I grabbed everything I needed. Honestly, all I had to bring with me was nude underwear. This was all new for me, because I’ve never been on this side of things.

7:30 a.m.: The show was outdoors in Elizabeth Street Garden, so when I got there, there wasn’t a big space inside where we could get ready. Of course, it was the coldest day of the week.

First, I got my makeup done. I said, “I never do super natural glam, are you going to cover up my pimple?” And they said, “For sure. But it’s really natural.” Then I asked, “How natural are we talking?” They said no mascara and I was like, “You know what? Perfect. Let’s do this.”

When I get anxious, I sweat, so when I was getting glam, the makeup girl was holding a white fan for me. It was FanGirl — I’m launching it in a few weeks. It’s a ring light and fan, a two-in-one product that clips on your phone. It de-stresses me to have air blowing on me, so I had it all day and for all of Fashion Week.

Afterward, I got my hair done outside and the stylists gave me these really cool braids. The designer was very involved, going up to every makeup person and hair artist, making sure everything felt cohesive.

Zoe Champion, the designer, and Wei Lin, the founder, were so great, and they kept checking on me. I told them, “Wait, you don’t need to. You have your own stresses!” I didn’t want them to worry about me, knowing I was the only one there who’s never walked in a show and all these people are literally runway models.

10 a.m.: We had a run-through. We didn’t walk in our outfits, but we did put on the shoes we’d be wearing. A few days before at the fitting, Zoe said, “I want people to be comfortable.” That’s why they don’t have people wear heels in their show, which I love.

During the practice run, I asked Wei and Zoe, “Is there anything I should do differently?” And Zoe said, “Give even more of your Remi attitude.” I had been trying to be more stiff and serious, and when she told me that, I was like, “OK, I’ll try and give it a little bit more of that.” I was nervous, but the practice run made me feel a little better.

10:50 a.m.: Backstage was kind of like a tent. There were photos of everyone in their outfits and people helping models change and lining everyone up in the right order. It was chaotic, but in a fun, exciting way. Once we were all changed, they took photos of us dressed and did last-minute touch-ups.

Someone asked the person directing everything, “Has anyone not walked in a show before?” I was looking around, and not one person raised their hand, so I didn’t raise mine either — I didn’t want to be the only one people were paying attention to. But then, before I went out, I whispered to the girl, “I’ve never walked a show before,” and I started telling the people near me.

The woman in front of me was a well-known older model who does a lot of shows. She held my hand and said, “I’m a physical therapist, too. Just think. In your mind, make your feet heavy, remember where you are, and ground yourself.” She was super sweet and supportive. Even if I’m not mentally nervous, sometimes my body gets physically anxious.

I asked a few models around me, “What do you think about when you go out?” They said, “Boss *ss b*tch, think about looking ahead and being you.”

11 a.m.: When I was waiting in line to go out, I felt my body getting tense and anxious. One girl was dancing to the music. I loved that so I copied what she was doing. She said to me, quietly, “No one’s dancing,” and I said, “I’m dancing with you.” I genuinely think that that helped me calm down. It’s something I've learned in the past year — that it’s good to let out stress physically or vocally.

Once I went out there, I kept thinking about what Coco told me: “Keep your eyes straight ahead no matter what. Don’t look down or in different directions. Always keep forward.”

Because we were in a garden, there were trees in the middle of the runway that they couldn’t trim, so that was making me nervous. They told us to do whatever we felt comfortable with. I wasn’t even thinking about it in the moment, but I moved it out of the way with my hand.

But when I got to the second bush, I walked straight through. I got a lot of feedback from people saying, “Oh my God, I can’t believe you did that.” It looked good — it didn’t look like I walked right through a bush.

1 p.m.: When I finished, I wasn’t thinking, “What did I look like? What did I do?” I thought, “Oh my God, I did it. I accomplished something that I was afraid of.” I really felt good about myself.

Normally, I tell people in my life when I’m excited or nervous about things I’m working on, because I like hearing their feedback. But I’m trying to avoid that now. I’ve realized, over time, that doing that gives me more anxiety, and it’s OK to keep some things to myself. So I didn’t tell too many of my friends and I didn’t invite people to come. I wanted to do it for me, the brand, and the designer. It was a very cool experience — but I also felt relieved it was over.

1:30 p.m.: After, I took my assistant to lunch. It felt like the first relaxing time I’ve had in a few weeks between knowing this was coming up and with Fashion Week in general. Yes, it looks glamorous, but there’s also a totally stressful part of it, too, knowing that a lot of people have eyes on you. So I felt a big sense of relief. After lunch, we walked around my neighborhood.

3:00 p.m.: Then I had to get ready for the Tommy Hilfiger show. I changed my whole look and took some photos.

6:30 p.m.: I went to the Tommy show on the Staten Island Ferry, where there were a ton of cool people.

7:30 p.m.: After the show, I didn’t want to go home. I wanted to do something fun because I’d been stressed all week, so a friend of mine, Tayshia Adams, and I got drinks and dinner and had a fun, girly night together.

This was an opportunity that came my way because I’ve always been authentically me since I’ve been in this industry — and before that — and I’ll always stand by that.

10 p.m. I didn't even post about it online until night, which is unlike me. But it’s what I’m trying to do by doing things for me.

I focused on the positive feedback and tried not to care about the negative comments around the way I walked and things like that. Because in my head, I’m like, “Well, I did this. You didn’t. What are you doing?”

11 p.m.: Of course, when something exciting like this happens for me, I’m more riled up and awake. So finally, once I wanted to go to bed, I was the opposite of relaxed. But I was relieved and very proud of myself.

I think this was an opportunity that came my way because I’ve always been authentically me since I’ve been in this industry — and before that — and I’ll always stand by that. I’ve always been the same Remi. The more you do these opportunities, the more confident you’ll become, and the more you’ll embrace who you are. I feel even more sure of myself after I walked that runway.

This as-told-to has been condensed and edited for clarity.