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The rise of the ‘older’ model? The cunning tricks of the fashion world explained.

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Inès de la Fressange- 53

 

Nevertheless designers are turning to models who normally would have had their best days behind them and bringing them back in the limelight. Something that this author finds indeed compelling and suggestive that the industry is starting to realize a woman still has legitimacy past the age of 30.This in itself creates an interesting situation, on one hand designers are recognizing the need to obviate and keep their brand relevant, but as much as the UK Telelgraph suggests that designers like Adrienne Vitadini who has confirmed that she will be using a bevy of older tried and true names in her upcoming 2011 fall collection here in NY are on some level liberating older women, the  truth is quite the opposite:

telegraph.co.uk : To wit, Adrienne Vittadini’s show on February 16 at New York Fashion Week. WWD reports that a whole host of top names from supermodels-past will be walking, including Carol Alt (40), Pat Cleveland (big in the Seventies) and the grande dame of supers, Carmen Dell’Orefice (79) – headlines virtually guaranteed.

Carmen Dell'Orefice (79)

 

In effect what is being celebrated is the brand name who has matured, the fact that she is older, mature and one assumes wiser is just arbitrary and a cynical exercise to position oneself as a progressive aesthete when in fact all that is being done is instead of using unknown young models who the public can no longer tell one from the other is that the designer is now banking on true and tested names that the consumer can (hopefully) identify with. The idea that a designer is actually attempting to sell to older women (who rarely goes out of her way to shop big on fashion) is a wonderful myth and a clever decoy by mainstream press to congratulate themselves for liberating fashion, aesthetics and women when in fact all it really does is to continue to disempower them and feed into their neurosis.

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4 COMMENTS

  1. In modeling an older model, aka mature aged model is no new news, mature models are working right now and have for many many years it’s just the media never talks about the print modeling world. Which is funny because most models are not fashion models, fashion models are a very small percent of the modeling world/business. Older models are modeling everything already from jewelry, to home goods, travel ads, skincare, in car commercials, older models retirement age are in demand and have been for some time. Fashion might be so concerned over height, measurements, wrinkles, but the print modeling world isn’t as narrow minded. The advertising world hires many models of all types for campaigns each year. They are not all giraffe tall or young. Especially now more than ever, when a 40 year old every five minutes having a baby or twins, in ten years these moms will be needing a vacation and who will be marketing to them, many many retail brands and the models in these ads won’t be teens. You might think models are only young and that modeling starts when you are 16-18 and that modeling is just fashion, you are wrong. Most models are actually older than you might think. Watch commercials, look at print ads in lifestyle magazines.Alot of it comes down to products that are out there and marketing. Despite the recession: Who is shopping. Who buys things? Who is more likely to purchase a handbag, a couch, a car, a hair product, a skincare product? An Adult. An older female. There are so many more products for adults. Therefore adult models are going to be working more to model these products in commercials and print ads. Sure fashion might be considered finally up to speed with the whole “mature model” thing, but mature models have been modeling already for many years. ~Isobella

  2. Fashion should have been always all along using models of all types, the five foot- four inch tall consumer doesn’t relate to a fashion model and who really wants to hem a pait of pants 8 inches? Which is why if baffles me why tall is more marketable in fashion?? I think the consumer can handle the reality…hell we watch reality TV, but when it comes to how retail and fashion brands market themselves, they seem to be a scared to show a more real looking model, “must look like a bitch or starved”…what about a more relatable model… why aren’t more brands, other than United Colors of Benetton, showing more diverse models? WTF.
    http://www.petitemodelingtips.com/2010/12/older-models-and-mature-models.html

  3. Can’t help but draw a parallel to the Music Industry’s new reliance on established,
    old “Classic ” Artists .

    The Beatles, Rolling Stones, etc. archival works are being re-mixed, re-hashed, repackaged & re-released mainly because the measurable market for them is already in place, and the new system makes establishing new artists daunting.

    Advertising is recycling & rehashing images of the Beatles, etc, instead of creating new stars.

    We are going downhill artistically, and relying on salvaging celebrities & reminders from our economic heyday in the 70s.

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