Fashion Week is full of surprises. Sometimes the biggest ones come in the smallest packages.
During Runway7 Fashion’s February 2026 New York Fashion Week shows at Sony Hall, a young model named Willow Hooten walked the runway for designer Archie Brown. She prepared for about a month. She stepped out with confidence. Then something magical happened.
Miss USA 2025 was sitting in the front row.
A Young Model With a Big Personality
“I started modeling when I was little,” she told us stage-side. “But when I took a course and there were no other sports things, I just got back into modeling.”
Courtesy Runway7Fashion
That return led her to one of the most prestigious fashion stages in New York City. Per Runway7 Fashion’s official platform page, the production has showcased over 700 designers from more than 30 countries at Sony Hall, giving emerging talent a real runway in the heart of Manhattan. For Willow, walking that stage was not just a fashion moment. It was a statement that she belongs.
She showed up focused, composed, and ready to work.
“Just keep trying and stay in the future.”
– Willow Hooten
Archie Brown and the Next Generation of Fashion
Archie Brown is not a newcomer to the Runway7 stage. The brand has been a consistent presence at Runway7 NYFW shows, celebrated for bringing youthful energy and vibrant representation to the runway.
According to a recent PAGE Magazine feature on NYFW youth designers, Archie Brown has been specifically recognized for highlighting fashion’s next generation of consumers and creators. The piece noted that kids’ runway presentations are often viewed as novelty but that Archie Brown’s presence feels like market foresight. That framing fits Willow perfectly.
She is not playing dress-up on a runway. She is building a career, step by intentional step, at an age when most kids are still figuring out what they want to be. And yet she is already doing it.
When asked if modeling is something she has always wanted to do, her answer was immediate. “Yeah,” she said, without hesitation. That single word carried a lot of weight from someone so young and so certain.
The Dance Dream Running Alongside
Here is what makes Willow’s story even more compelling. She is not singularly focused on modeling. Running right alongside it is another passion, equally strong, equally serious.
She is a competitive dancer.
When asked during our interview what she would do if not modeling, she answered without missing a beat. “Dancing,” she said. “Competitive.”
She already competes and already trains. She already knows the discipline it takes to excel at something physical and performance-based. In many ways, that background makes her a natural on the runway. Dancers understand timing, spatial awareness, and presence in a room. They know what it means to perform under pressure and make it look effortless.
Willow is still young enough to explore both worlds fully. She does not have to choose today. And that freedom, that open horizon stretching out in front of her, is exactly what makes her story so worth telling right now.
The Moment Nobody Planned
Then came a very special interview.
Sitting in the row directly in front of the stage was someone who would provide perfect alignment. It was Audrey Eckert, the reigning Miss USA 2025. A quick exchange led to an interview. Then came an even better idea: hand the mic to Willow.
A young model, barely warmed down from her own runway walk, sat down with the reigning Miss USA and asked her everything she wanted to know. What followed was one of the most genuine, unscripted moments of the entire Week.
Willow did not flinch. She asked confident, thoughtful questions. And Audrey answered every single one with warmth, honesty, and the kind of grace that explains exactly why she is wearing that crown.
Camera: Almondnycity
Audrey Eckert: The Crown, the Cheer, and the Clarity
For those unfamiliar, Audrey Eckert has been competing in pageants since she was nine years old. Per her Wikipedia profile, she was crowned Miss USA 2025 on October 24, 2025 at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada, becoming only the second woman from Nebraska to ever win the title. She later represented the United States at Miss Universe 2025 in Thailand, placing in the Top 30.
Audrey graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a degree in business administration. She was also captain of the Husker Cheer Squad. A December 2025 feature by KOLN 10/11 News captured her post-win reflection well: “I think sometimes people count you out because of where you’re from, but that shouldn’t be the case.”
She still coaches cheerleading when she is home in Nebraska, working with over 300 young athletes. She also runs a digital safety initiative called Queen of Your Feed, focused on helping young people navigate social media safely and confidently.
When Willow asked what her favorite part of modeling is, Audrey lit up. “I love modeling because it’s very different than pageants,” she said. “In pageants you get to pick out your own clothes, but in modeling you get to wear what the designer wants. It’s really fun to see that vision.”
She also spoke about her cheerleading roots, which clearly connected with Willow’s dancer instincts. “I was a college cheerleader for the Huskers,” Audrey said. “Now I still coach cheerleading when I’m home.”
Advice From a Crown to a Pre-Teen on the Rise
The most powerful part of the interview came at the end. Willow asked Audrey for advice. What would she tell younger people who want to be just like her one day?
Audrey did not hesitate. She leaned in and spoke directly.
“Give yourself grace. You don’t always have to have it figured out right away. Just slow down, trust the process, and give yourself grace.”
– Audrey Eckert, Miss USA 2025
Those words landed differently because of who was asking. A young girl still deciding between modeling and competitive dance, still figuring out her path, heard the reigning Miss USA tell her it is okay not to have it all mapped out yet.
Slow down. Trust the process. Give yourself grace.
For Willow, that advice is not abstract. It is a permission slip. It is exactly what she needed to hear at exactly the right moment, on exactly the right stage.
The Future of Fashion Looks Like This
Fashion Week is often framed as a world for adults. Designers, buyers, press, celebrities. The machinery of the industry tends to run on experience, connection, and years of accumulated credibility.
But every so often, a moment cuts through all of that. A youth model walks the Runway7 stage for Archie Brown, then turns around and interviews Miss USA with the calm confidence of a seasoned journalist. The cameras click. The crowd watches. And something real happens.
Willow Hooten is not waiting for the future of fashion to arrive. She is already in it. She is walking it, dancing toward it, and asking it questions with a microphone in her hand.
Watch this one. She is just getting started.
Learn more about Archie Brown Designs on Instagram: @archiebrowndesigns
Follow Miss USA 2025 Audrey Eckert: @audreyeckert_
To contact Willow her mother (and manager)’s Instagram: @summerhooten
Learn more about Runway7 Fashion at runway7fashion.com
