And God Created Older Woman

The recent article The grown-up model comes of age by Lauren Cochrane in the Weekend FT seems to have been written for us! I would like to plug my own article from February about Older Models: muttonsguidetofashion:older-models where I was investigating the few model agencies that specialise in Older Models. The FT article is hugely encouraging as it highlights a change in thinking amongst (some) brands and designers.

The article focuses on Daphne Selfe who presented London designer Joanna Sykes' autumn/winter 2010 collection.

Daphne Selfe

The 81 year old model has a great self-deprecating attitude and is quoted by the FT as saying: “I was a very ordinary model when I was younger,” “I got to 80 last year and did rather a lot of modelling because people thought this [age] was interesting.” How encouraging is that! Maturity has enhanced Daphne Selfe's carreer in the toughest professional environment, so there is hope for all of us!

I think we should not go over-board though as tokenism is rife within that most fickle of industries. As + size models periodically appear in pages full of skinny waifs, the occasional wrinkly face might also make an appearance in fashion magazines. A rather more serious indicator of possible lasting change is the comment from Martin Raymond from trend forecasting agency The Future Laboratory: “Brands used to be obsessed with youth. Now they are realising that people in their forties are the customers and they’re addressing that.”

Thank you! Finally someone is listening!