When images of 88-year-old Maggie Smith appearing in Loewe’s latest campaign were released last week, they were warmly received online. And of course, in a fashion industry obsessed with young people, there’s something different about a man in his 80s promoting a major label. And in an aging society, predicted that 24% of the UK population will be over 65 by 2043 is something to celebrate.
But among the accolades that accompanied Smith’s campaign was something noteworthy. The actor is no stranger to other older actors, from Catherine Deneuve, who was 80 years old and took part in the Saint Laurent campaign, to Mary Berry, who was also 88 years old and took part in the Burberry campaign, to Massimo Dutti’s Charlotte Rampling, who was 77 years old. Join the campaign star. Balenciaga, on the other hand, is 70 years old. The latest show stars 67-year-old fashion critic Cathy Horin, with -year-old Isabelle Huppert as the ambassador. They’re all following the campaign lead seven years after Phoebe Philo cast 80-year-old Joan Didion in her Celine campaign in 2015.
These women are all decades older than the typical campaign star, and all are famous or well-known in their fields. But they also have something else in common. That means they’re all white.
Juergen Teller / Loewe
Where are the campaigns featuring 64-year-old Bernardine Evaristo in her favorite bright colors? Or 65-year-old Angela Bassett, whose cheekbones remain for days. Michelle Yeoh, 61, has already shown off her fashion talent on the red carpet, and the campaign starring Diana Ross, 79, is sure to break the internet. Perhaps, more likely, these women turned down the offer. Or maybe you just weren’t able to get them in the first place.
This lineup of older models mirrors another model that has been a cause for concern lately: the designer lineups of major fashion houses. After Sean McGirr was announced as the new creative director. In September, a composite image began circulating on social media showing how the designer who replaced Sarah Burton and currently sits in the chair of most major luxury brands is a white man. Has diversity gone backwards in any way, as critics rightly asked?
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There’s no denying that there have been some changes regarding diversity in modeling in recent years. From Michael Kors to Versace, older models have become regulars on the catwalks, with 50-something supermodels like Christy Turlington and Naomi Campbell bringing star power reported in the fashion spot. Fall/Winter 2022 Fashion Month was the most racially diverse fashion month ever, with 48.6% of models appearing on the catwalks being non-white. Models over size zero also became more visible, with Milan’s Caroline Vitto and London’s Chopova Rowena casting only mid-size and plus-size models in SS24. Meanwhile, brands such as Corinna Strada and Sinead O’Dwyer have highlighted ableism in fashion by featuring disabled models in their shows and campaigns.
Both latter brands do a great job of providing nuance in their diverse casting. There are also some green shoots that suggest older people of color may soon appear in more fashion images. For example, Grace Jones, 75, was the star of Walford’s campaign in February. Gentleman Woman features 70-year-old Chaka Khan on the cover of its latest issue, released in October, and techno founder Jeff Mills, 60, is featured in Jil Sander’s fall/winter campaign. There are also older black people who are not famous.Models to watch – including Mouchette Bell, a model in her mid-60s who I work with perfection Magazines and Jigsaw, or Carolyn Doering, who started modeling in her mid-70s.
But as the overwhelming whiteness of these older campaign stars shows, we still have a long way to go before we all see people who look like us in fashion images. When you look at a billboard, you may feel that the only acceptable image of an older person is that of a white A-list actor, a national treasure. The fact is that relatively few older women of color fall into this category initially. This place speaks to the broader question of who we worship. In an aging society where almost a quarter of us will soon be over 65, it does not reflect where we are now or where we are going.
