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A golden age for mature models? | Fashion Statement

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Older models have long been a catwalk novelty – but change may be afoot
. The,. Fashlon AT RN Statement
Grace Ghanem modelling for Rotate.
camera Grace Ghanem modelling for Rotate. Photograph: James Cochrane

Older models have long been a catwalk novelty – but change may be afoot

In Paris, The Row put older women front and centre of its show – is this simply a runway stunt or a sign of desperately needed change? Plus: your wardrobe dilemmas answered

Chloe Mac Donnell Chloe Mac Donnell

Hello, it’s March which means we’ve officially reached the final stint of fashion month. Week five – yes it feels like 50 – takes us to Paris.

So far we’ve seen runway stunts aplenty this season. There were pregnant models at London fashion week, models crowd surfing at the Sunnei show in Milan and even a model on fire on the runway in Paris. But the most unexpected spot? A string of older models at The Row show on Wednesday, also in Paris.

When it comes to fashion week casting, age is often under-discussed. You tend to get the odd cameo – remember Joan Didion at Céline in 2015 and Betty Catroux at Saint Laurent in 2018? More recently, Grace Jones, 74 ,was unveiled as the new face (and legs) of Wolford, while the 74-year-old model Maye Musk (mother to Elon) fronted an editorial in V magazine and the Instagram star Iris Apfel landed her first beauty campaign aged 101.

Mature models might be good enough for covers and campaigns but not, it seems, for the catwalk. You might be surprised to learn just how old some models actually are. In 2019, the median age on the runway was 23, up from 21 in 2014.

Some models at The Row show were in their 40s and 50s, including the 45-year-old Polish model Małgosia Bela. Older than the median, yes, but certainly not old.

At the big fashion weeks, including New York and Milan, there is often a focus, however flawed, on body diversity and racial diversity, but rarely on age diversity. Mature models are still the novelty rather than the norm.

This wasn’t the case at Copenhagen fashion week, now considered the fifth fashion week. There, the runways were peppered with models spanning every age bracket including septuagenarians and octogenarians.

Grace Jones modelling for Walford
camera Grace Jones modelling for Walford Photograph: Richard Phibbs

The most talked about casting was at the Danish brand Rotate, which booked the American reality TV star Lisa Rinna (who is 59) and Grece Ghanem (58), a personal trainer turned fashion influencer, to walk alongside the twentysomethings.

The brand is headed up by influencers and stylists Jeanette Madsen and Thora Valdimarsdottir, who said in an interview backstage that it has always been important for Rotate to celebrate all women: “Some women want to cover their shoulders, some want to cover their arms or their tummies and some want to show [it all off] … Our goal is to please every woman, and that is body diversity.”

It’s compelling to watch an older woman wear clothing you’ve only seen on a younger body. Take Jennifer Coolidge, 61, at Sunday night’s SAG awards. The black, long-sleeved Saint Laurent dress she wore looked completely different on her than it did on the runway. Coolidge would be a lot more successful in shifting stock – but try telling that to a casting director.

The actor falls into a group whose spending power is dubbed “the grey pound”. In 2016, the private equity firm ECI reported that the over-50s in the UK held more than three-quarters of the nation’s financial wealth. Yet these “grey pound” women continued to be overlooked by the fashion industry. This type of invisibility is the subject of the new book Hags by Victoria Smith, who questions why middle-aged women are often ignored and demonised. “The cliche of middled-aged womanhood is that it’s a time when we ‘become invisible’,” she writes. “Alas, superpower fans, this does not happen. We are still here, same as always; it’s just that we are being ignored. Other people are actively choosing not to acknowledge or value us. This ignoring is often talked of as a minor issue, perhaps even a perk of becoming decrepit (hey, at least we don’t get catcalled anymore!)”.

The fact that an aspirational brand such as The Row included multiple age groups in its fashion week show without fanfare makes it even more obvious that it makes commercial, not just cultural, sense. The label, founded by former child actors Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, is expensive – a cashmere coat retails for more than £11,000, a midi dress for more than £1,500 – but you can’t knock its influence. Those oversized blazers and lug-sole boots you see all over the high street are a trickle down effect from the design duo.

Maybe change is afoot. For his first campaign, Daniel Lee, the new chief creative officer of Burberry, cast the 86-year-old actor Vanessa Redgrave. In an image that quickly went viral on social media, Redgrave is pictured grinning at the camera in front of Trafalgar Square wearing a beige trench coat, a design signature of the British fashion house. Yet in February, Redgrave sat front row at Lee’s debut show in London to watch a runway cast composed of models young enough to be her great-granddaughter.

The Measure

What’s hot – and what’s most definitely not – this week

Cate Blanchett, ‘pasta water candles’ and tonal colours feature this week.
camera Cate Blanchett, ‘pasta water candles’ and tonal colours feature this week. Composite: The Guardian

Going up

Free carbs | In Paris, Céline’s creative director Hedi Slimane gave showgoers boxes of jellies and chocolates, while the Jacquemus invite was buttered toast. Yum.

Eye-brators | Actor Lily James told Harper’s Bazaar that she keeps a T-bar-shaped sculpting bar from the facialist Jillian Dempsey in her handbag. “Gemma Chan coined them eye-brators,” she said, noting that the vibrating tool “gets the blood flowing”.

Re-re-wearing | It was third time lucky for Cate Blanchett’s Armani Privé gown at the SAG awards. The Tár star wore the same dress to the 2014 Golden Globes and to the 2018 Cannes film festival.

Going down

Stealth wealth | MaxMara are calling the act of dressing rich – ie tonal colours, no flashy logos – ‘The Camelocracy’.

Goop’s vagina candle | Brooklyn based perfumers DS & Durga has launched a “Pasta Water” candle with errr … top notes of saline water.

Bath bombs | TikTokers are peeling oranges in the shower for a heightened sensory experience.

Reads of the week

Dilara Findikoglu attends a party hosted by Nothing and Dazed in 2022.
camera Dilara Findikoglu attends a party hosted by Nothing and Dazed in 2022. Photograph: David M Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Dazed

Dilara Findikoglu (above) tells AnOther why she wants to “destroy modesty on the catwalk”.

Vogue meets Instagram’s favourite fashion critic, HauteLeMode.

The Hollywood Reporter uncovers the secret rules of the red carpet.

Dazed Digital finds out who Rick Owens would pick to play him in a movie of his life.

Style Clinic

Morwenna Ferrier, fashion and lifestyle editor, solves your wardrobe dilemmas

Saucony’s Grid Hurricane trainers.
camera Saucony’s Grid Hurricane trainers. Photograph: Saucony

Q: I gather Stan Smiths are no longer acceptable because Matt Hancock wears them. This seems fair enough, but can you recommend some non-sport trainers for a 50-year-old woman? – Barbara

A: Assuming you’re a white trainer fan (I like black in winter and white in summer) you can’t go wrong with anything from New Balance, Veja, Primury and Asics. Partly because the shapes are nice and trad – they’re chunky, and look like leather brogues instead of some of the more prow-like shapes that have emerged over the years. The shape also works well with a 7/8-length trouser or (heaven forbid) a floral midi. But I’d also like to recommend Saucony Grid Hurricanes in cream, which no one but me wears, and Puma Easy Riders which might seem a bit young but are actually just very, very comfortable shoes. Which is the point of them, isn’t it?

Got your own style question? Send it to [email protected].

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. The,. Fashlon AT RN Statement Grace Ghanem modelling for Rotate. camera Grace Ghanem modelling for Rotate. Photograph: James Cochrane OLDER MODELS HAVE LONG BEEN A CATWALK NOVELTY – BUT CHANGE MAY BE AFOOT In Paris, The Row put older women front and centre of its show – is this simply a runway stunt or a sign of desperately needed change? Plus: your wardrobe dilemmas answered * Don’t get Fashion Statement delivered to your inbox? Sign up here Chloe Mac Donnell Chloe Mac Donnell Hello, it’s March which means we’ve officially reached the final stint of fashion month. Week five – yes it feels like 50 – takes us to Paris. So far we’ve seen runway stunts aplenty this season. There were pregnant models at London fashion week, models crowd surfing at the Sunnei show in Milan and even a model on fire on the runway in Paris. But the most unexpected spot? A string of older models at The Row show on Wednesday, also in Paris. When it comes to fashion week casting, age is often under-discussed. You tend to get the odd cameo – remember Joan Didion at Céline in 2015 and Betty Catroux at Saint Laurent in 2018? More recently, Grace Jones, 74 ,was unveiled as the new face (and legs) of Wolford, while the 74-year-old model Maye Musk (mother to Elon) fronted an editorial in V magazine and the Instagram star Iris Apfel landed her first beauty campaign aged 101. Mature models might be good enough for covers and campaigns but not, it seems, for the catwalk. You might be surprised to learn just how old some models actually are. In 2019, the median age on the runway was 23, up from 21 in 2014. Some models at The Row show were in their 40s and 50s, including the 45-year-old Polish model Małgosia Bela. Older than the median, yes, but certainly not old. At the big fashion weeks, including New York and Milan, there is often a focus, however flawed, on body diversity and racial diversity, but rarely on age diversity. Mature models are still the novelty rather than the norm. This wasn’t the case at Copenhagen fashion week, now considered the fifth fashion week. There, the runways were peppered with models spanning every age bracket including septuagenarians and octogenarians. Grace Jones modelling for Walford camera Grace Jones modelling for Walford Photograph: Richard Phibbs The most talked about casting was at the Danish brand Rotate, which booked the American reality TV star Lisa Rinna (who is 59) and Grece Ghanem (58), a personal trainer turned fashion influencer, to walk alongside the twentysomethings. The brand is headed up by influencers and stylists Jeanette Madsen and Thora Valdimarsdottir, who said in an interview backstage that it has always been important for Rotate to celebrate all women: “Some women want to cover their shoulders, some want to cover their arms or their tummies and some want to show [it all off] … Our goal is to please every woman, and that is body diversity.” It’s compelling to watch an older woman wear clothing you’ve only seen on a younger body. Take Jennifer Coolidge, 61, at Sunday night’s SAG awards. The black, long-sleeved Saint Laurent dress she wore looked completely different on her than it did on the runway. Coolidge would be a lot more successful in shifting stock – but try telling that to a casting director. The actor falls into a group whose spending power is dubbed “the grey pound”. In 2016, the private equity firm ECI reported that the over-50s in the UK held more than three-quarters of the nation’s financial wealth. Yet these “grey pound” women continued to be overlooked by the fashion industry. This type of invisibility is the subject of the new book Hags by Victoria Smith, who questions why middle-aged women are often ignored and demonised. “The cliche of middled-aged womanhood is that it’s a time when we ‘become invisible’,” she writes. “Alas, superpower fans, this does not happen. We are still here, same as always; it’s just that we are being ignored. Other people are actively choosing not to acknowledge or value us. This ignoring is often talked of as a minor issue, perhaps even a perk of becoming decrepit (hey, at least we don’t get catcalled anymore!)”. The fact that an aspirational brand such as The Row included multiple age groups in its fashion week show without fanfare makes it even more obvious that it makes commercial, not just cultural, sense. The label, founded by former child actors Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, is expensive – a cashmere coat retails for more than £11,000, a midi dress for more than £1,500 – but you can’t knock its influence. Those oversized blazers and lug-sole boots you see all over the high street are a trickle down effect from the design duo. Maybe change is afoot. For his first campaign, Daniel Lee, the new chief creative officer of Burberry, cast the 86-year-old actor Vanessa Redgrave. In an image that quickly went viral on social media, Redgrave is pictured grinning at the camera in front of Trafalgar Square wearing a beige trench coat, a design signature of the British fashion house. Yet in February, Redgrave sat front row at Lee’s debut show in London to watch a runway cast composed of models young enough to be her great-granddaughter. THE MEASURE What’s hot – and what’s most definitely not – this week Cate Blanchett, ‘pasta water candles’ and tonal colours feature this week. camera Cate Blanchett, ‘pasta water candles’ and tonal colours feature this week. Composite: The Guardian Going up Free carbs | In Paris, Céline’s creative director Hedi Slimane gave showgoers boxes of jellies and chocolates, while the Jacquemus invite was buttered toast. Yum. Eye-brators | Actor Lily James told Harper’s Bazaar that she keeps a T-bar-shaped sculpting bar from the facialist Jillian Dempsey in her handbag. “Gemma Chan coined them eye-brators,” she said, noting that the vibrating tool “gets the blood flowing”. Re-re-wearing | It was third time lucky for Cate Blanchett’s Armani Privé gown at the SAG awards. The Tár star wore the same dress to the 2014 Golden Globes and to the 2018 Cannes film festival. Going down Stealth wealth | MaxMara are calling the act of dressing rich – ie tonal colours, no flashy logos – ‘The Camelocracy’. Goop’s vagina candle | Brooklyn based perfumers DS & Durga has launched a “Pasta Water” candle with errr … top notes of saline water. Bath bombs | TikTokers are peeling oranges in the shower for a heightened sensory experience. READS OF THE WEEK Dilara Findikoglu attends a party hosted by Nothing and Dazed in 2022. camera Dilara Findikoglu attends a party hosted by Nothing and Dazed in 2022. Photograph: David M Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Dazed Dilara Findikoglu (above) tells AnOther why she wants to “destroy modesty on the catwalk”. Vogue meets Instagram’s favourite fashion critic, HauteLeMode. The Hollywood Reporter uncovers the secret rules of the red carpet. Dazed Digital finds out who Rick Owens would pick to play him in a movie of his life. WHAT TO CLICK Dior’s Maria Grazia Chiuri on bridging feminism and fashion: ‘The male gaze is seen as the perspective that matters’ Dior’s Maria Grazia Chiuri on bridging feminism and fashion: ‘The male gaze is seen as the perspective that matters’ Dress sensitivity: creating the Mennonite costumes for Women Talking Dress sensitivity: creating the Mennonite costumes for Women Talking How slippers left the comfort of home to become a status symbol How slippers left the comfort of home to become a status symbol Blandstanding is in as Milan fashion week embraces the practical Blandstanding is in as Milan fashion week embraces the practical Crotch blowouts and bobbly knits: how to save secondhand clothes from smells, stains and other surprises Crotch blowouts and bobbly knits: how to save secondhand clothes from smells, stains and other surprises Hot buttons: why fashion houses are getting into video games Hot buttons: why fashion houses are getting into video games STYLE CLINIC Morwenna Ferrier, fashion and lifestyle editor, solves your wardrobe dilemmas Saucony’s Grid Hurricane trainers. camera Saucony’s Grid Hurricane trainers. Photograph: Saucony Q: I gather Stan Smiths are no longer acceptable because Matt Hancock wears them. This seems fair enough, but can you recommend some non-sport trainers for a 50-year-old woman? – Barbara A: Assuming you’re a white trainer fan (I like black in winter and white in summer) you can’t go wrong with anything from New Balance, Veja, Primury and Asics. Partly because the shapes are nice and trad – they’re chunky, and look like leather brogues instead of some of the more prow-like shapes that have emerged over the years. The shape also works well with a 7/8-length trouser or (heaven forbid) a floral midi. But I’d also like to recommend Saucony Grid Hurricanes in cream, which no one but me wears, and Puma Easy Riders which might seem a bit young but are actually just very, very comfortable shoes. Which is the point of them, isn’t it? Got your own style question? Send it to [email protected]. Thank you for turning to the Guardian Since we started publishing 200 years ago, tens of millions have placed their trust in our fearless journalism, turning to us in moments of crisis, uncertainty, solidarity and hope. More than 1.5 million supporters, from 180 countries, now power us financially – keeping us open to all, and fiercely independent. Unlike many others, the Guardian has no shareholders and no billionaire owner. Just the determination and passion to deliver high-impact global reporting, always free from commercial or political influence. Reporting like this is vital for democracy, for fairness and to demand better from the powerful. And we provide all this for free, for everyone to read. We do this because we believe in information equality. Greater numbers of people can keep track of the events shaping our world, understand their impact on people and communities, and become inspired to take meaningful action. Millions can benefit from open access to quality, truthful news, regardless of their ability to pay for it. Whether you give a little or a lot, your funding will power our reporting for the years to come. Support the Guardian from as little as $1 – it only takes a minute. If you can, please consider supporting us with a regular amount each month. Thank you. Support the Guardian   Get in touch If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email [email protected] Manage your emails | | You are receiving this email because you are a subscriber to Fashion Statement. Guardian News & Media Limited - a member of Guardian Media Group PLC. Registered Office: Kings Place, 90 York Way, London, N1 9GU. Registered in England No. 908396
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