by At the latest round of fashion shows in Paris, Milan, London and New York, Insta 20 models Kaia Gerber, Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid weren’t ruling the runways as usual. Other “hot, young, new” names were revealed, for sure. But the stars of the season, truly, were the sophisticates with the silver hair, rather than the nails.
At Miu Miu in Paris, British actress Kristin Scott Thomas, 63, and Ángela Molina, 68, led the charge. Supermodel Kristen McMenamy, 59, wore a grassy hip dress by Vivienne Westwood and Naomi Campbell, 53, worked a black lace corset by Dolce & Gabbana.
It’s no surprise that a sprinkling of famous names over the age of 50 are still able to claim their seasonal bookings. But it is much more unusual to see so many ‘older’, less well-known models cast in teenage parades. Until now.
Bethany Nagy, who is 53 years old, walked in the Saint Laurent show, and could be seen at the same time on billboards all over Paris – she is the face of the main advertising campaign for womenswear of the flagship brand. Axelle Doué, Nadja La Ganza and Kristina de Coninck – all in their 60s – joined Nagy on the catwalk at Balmain.
These are beautiful women – of interest – who very much reflect the profile of the customer who ultimately buys the clothes available. Finally, they are getting the best jobs.
“Beauty has no age, beauty has no boundaries, it was a moment,” Balmain creative director Olivier Rousteing said after his show, which he called “one of the most unforgettable of my career .” Rousteing is, traditionally, the inspiration for the Instagram generation – he was one of the first to support the Hadid and Jenner sisters, when they first hit the scene in their late teens.
“This is the vision, solutions for the future,” he said this time, however, “let’s change the codes and clichés of beauty in fashion.”
Rousteing’s attitude is great, and his clients will celebrate it. Cher, who sat in the front row, is his archetypal woman – a rich woman in her 70s armored in tailored (usually glittery) clothes.
But it remains to be seen if he – along with Miuccia Prada, Anthony Vaccarello and the other designers who have championed age diversity in their latest shows – sticks to next season, or moves on. to another ‘new look’.
Just a year ago, agents talked about how work for older models had almost dried up after the pandemic, because brands were less willing to “take risks”. Rebecca Valentine, founder of Gray Model Agency, is skeptical. She has seen the ‘trend’ for older models before.
When she launched her 35 plus modeling agency in 2015, she was inundated with bookings, including high fashion clients such as Gucci and Prada. But when budgets are tight and finances are more difficult, brands often choose to “play it safe” again by showing their new collections to younger women.
“My concern with Balmain using so many older models in one show is that it could create a flash-in-the-pan effect and that next year the focus will be on another ‘big’, ” she says, noting that although bookings in Paris and Milan were much better than in London, it was disappointing in terms of representation.
“The London Fashion Week runways were under siege,” she says. “We prefer to work with clients who show their ‘off’ runway collections, especially Ashish whose solutions were a perfect blend of [age diversity] and the elegant and the eccentric for which London is so admired in fashion.”
Sylvie Fabregon, the chief accountant at the Paris-based Silver agency, which exclusively represents men and women over the age of 40, is more optimistic about the future influx of work.
“For this season, there was a real age difference,” she admits. Amazingly, five older women were cast on her books in the Balmain show. Her charges took on a mix of other jobs during Paris Fashion Week – some with the biggest, more established labels like Saint Laurent, some with upstart names like Marine Serre. This supportive mix is key, she says, to ensure the ‘trend’ lasts beyond one season.
“It’s true that this season is the best, perhaps ever, of older models booked on the catwalks. We’ve seen the demand for both women and men – it’s been increasing over the last few seasons, we’ve seen some bookings, but this was much better. I hope it’s just the beginning.”
Bethany Nagy, one of Fabregon’s talents, who has had spots on Saint Laurent and Balmain – two of the city’s biggest brands – describes the interest as “interesting”. She has been working as a model since 1995 – giving her 30 years more experience than most she shared the catwalk with this week.
“I think we’re seeing an important shift,” she says of how the industry’s ideals of beauty are evolving. “It shows that fashion and style have no age limits.”
Asked if she ever thought, back in the 1990s, that she might still be successful as a model in her mid-50s, Nagy says it was “unthinkable”.
“I didn’t start modeling until I was in graduate school at age 25,” she explains. “At that point, in 1995, I was told to lie about my age and say I was 19 because models usually ‘retired’ at 25. He convinced me that I had a few good years in me as a model before. I would be put out to pasture. So here I am at the age of 53 enjoying a nearly 30 year career built on discipline, professionalism, dynamic agency representation and good luck.”
That, and particular beauty, of course.
Axelle Doué, who started her modeling career in 1980, is delighted to be back at it. “I hope it’s not just a ‘fashion effect’,” she says, acknowledging that images projected on catwalks can influence the way older women are viewed in all other areas of culture and life. .
“It’s great to represent the seniors, “the silvers” as my agency calls us, because after all let’s look at the street – there are women and men of all ages, who dress up, put on makeup on them, who wears perfume, who wears jewellery. According to the ads, fashion should only be the privilege of the young. We say that elegance [found] at any age.”
Casting director Calvin Wilson, working with Anita Bitton’s company, Establishment Casting New York, was ultimately responsible for recruiting models to walk in the celebrated Balmain show.
“Usually a casting model [event] to be quiet enough,” he says, “but at this one, when those women of a certain age came in, there was noise – joy and hugs, people asking how the children and grandchildren are. It was like a reunion.”
Rousteing informed him to find models of all ages who were not obvious “famous faces”.
“You see some age diversity on the runway these days, but often women you know or remember from day to day,” he says. “With this we wanted people to look and just say, ‘Wow, who is that amazing woman?’ We wanted people to see their mother, their grandmother, their aunt being represented.”
As for whether it will survive, he offers two key words: “we are committed.”
