Between the Internet freaking out over Joan Didion for Celine and now the images of Saint Lauren’t latest music campaign just released with Joni Mitchell, I can’t help but think…is 2015 the year of the “senior” model? Or is this something we’ve seen before?
Highlighting stylish women over the age of 60 is what Ari Seth Cohen (the creator of Advanced Style) does best, and he’s been doing this since 2008. I’d say he was one of the first to put these ladies on the map, at least in the age of the Internet and having all sorts of images and information at our fingertips. Now it’s not too out there to say that because of something as influential as Advanced Style that we’ve had fashion ads in the past that don’t use the conventional 18 year old model, but those who look like this instead.
Although Missoni did a little bit of both (does it count that it’s with Ottavio though? Who cares…what a BOSS!)
Not an ad campaign, but Linda Rodin modeled a few looks for The Row’s Pre-Fall 2014 collection. And considering the Olsens tend to dress like they could get a discount at the movie theater and perhaps eat dinner at 4pm, this made perfect sense.
Remember Lanvin’s Fall campaign a few years back? When they cast REAL people? Well, real people aren’t always in their teens…including virtually unknown former-dancer Jacquie “Tajah” Murdock (who happens to be one of Ari’s style icons and had been on his blog before).
See? It’s no new thing. We just so happen to be kicking off 2015 with some senior style, which really has the Twitter-verse / Insta-world / Facebook-land talking. Fashion and age is always a topic of discussion, as we’re used to seeing ads like this….
Gigi Hadid for Guess.
Kendall Jenner for Marc Jacobs.
So when a designer casts a model who’s over the age of 25 (maybe even 30) it’s kind of a big deal. And over the age of 60 it’s like WHOA! MIND. BLOWN.
Is it better to have a mix of old an young in an ad (like Dolce & Gabbana’s Spring ’15 campaign) or just one or the other? When it comes to ad campaigns in general, do you prefer to see a certain type of person? Of a certain age? For me, I can go either way. But it’s refreshing to see something different done for an ad campaign, regardless of what that difference is (the use of pay phones, animals, whatever works). And if it happens to be a chic older woman in Celine sunglasses? Then so be it.
Images via Fashion Gone Rogue
I personally love this! I just finished watching the Advanced Style documentary and found it to be so inspiring. I feel like we have this mentality here in the US that life theoretically ends at 40 or 50 for women. I love that this mentality is shifting.