Model Makayla Ray Walks New York Fashion Week, LA Fashion Week and Miami Art Basel in 90 Days With Zero Agency Backing

In the same amount of time it takes most of us to finish a puzzle on our coffee table, Makayla Ray went from a Washington nobody to walking runways at New York Fashion Week, LA Fashion Week and Miami Art Basel.

Her secret weapon? Skipping the entire agency machine.

The narrative we've been sold says you need an agency, a specific look and years of grinding at automotive shows and shopping malls before you're runway-ready. Ray's story suggests something more unsettling for the old guard: the entire gatekeeping apparatus might be optional.

Here's what actually happened. Ray relocated from Washington State to Austin, Texas and made a decision that should have been career suicide by traditional standards. She went full-time as a content creator and model without the safety net of agency backing.

However, after betting on herself, her Instagram engagement hit 5.6 million in the past 30 days. That's the kind of heat that makes brands bypass their usual channels entirely.

Within just three months, Ray walked the most coveted shows at fashion capitals from coast to coast. Now her 2025 calendar is completely booked, she says, with runway appearances and photoshoots. Her story underscores the uncomfortable truth that the fashion industry's traditional pipeline might be slower and less effective than simply building your own following and forcing the doors open yourself.

The traditional path requires years of building a portfolio and hoping someone notices, but she built an audience first. Then the industry came to her.

"Always bet on yourself and go out of your comfort zone," she said. "You will start to fly past all of your goals and your dreams will become your reality."