At the age of 70, these models are the new stars of fashion

Their names are Iris Apfel, Maye Musk, Linda Rodin, or even Carmen Dell’Orefice, and they aim to shake up the fashion codes. Icons or newcomers, these models grace the covers of magazines, count up to several million subscribers on social networks and walk the catwalks of the biggest luxury houses. Their common point? They are all over 70 years old, and they don’t care about criticism and what people will say.

In May 2022, Kim Kardashian, Ciara and Yumi Nu were among the models chosen to appear on the cover of the popular magazine’s 2022 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, alongside Maye Musk. At 74, the Canadian-African dietitian, a model for almost five decades, is unanimous in a one-piece swimsuit, breaking down a little more the orders and dictates that have dominated fashion and beauty for (too) long.

Model roles to break the codes

If the businesswoman is known to be the mother of a certain Eloni, it is really her plasticity, charisma, dynamism and self-confidence that attract women’s magazines and fashion brands. Proof with the covers and editorials the fashion icon has produced just for 2022: Harper’s Bazaar Bulgaria, officer, Grace UK, vogue Arabia, or V-Magazine. And that’s without counting his campaigns for the CoverGirl brand. What makes 20, 30 or 40 year old models try to penetrate, or protect themselves, in a still very closed environment.

Shaking the codes and ending the age: these are the objectives of these initiatives which have multiplied at breakneck speed over the past two years. “Maye Musk embodies the idea that aging doesn’t have to stop you from chasing your dreams. Don’t believe us? Go to the link in bio to see the breaking of industry standards,” he explained. Sports Illustrated Swimwear on Instagram for her cover caption. And Maye Musk added: “Thank you Sports Illustrated to show that women of all ages should feel safe in swimwear. Men certainly are. What is this story?”

The 70-year-old is far from the only one working to change mindsets, either in fashion or more broadly in society. Iris Apfel, who celebrated her hundredth birthday in 2021, also contributes a lot to show that age is not synonymous with apathy, passivity or carelessness, and even less with invisibility. Followed by nearly 2.5 million subscribers on Instagram, Iris Apfel proudly displays her dynamism today, as well as her wrinkles, in campaigns as varied as they are diverse. Ciate, H&M and Hugo Boss are among the brands the centenarian has partnered with in 2022.

It’s a veritable silver lining currently sweeping through fashion, with iconic models being arrested in the middle of Fashion Week to pose for street styles or sign autographs. Carmen Dell’Orefice, Beverly Johnson, Nicole Jordi, Linda Rodin and of course fashion legend Lauren Hutton, emerge as the new idols of the fashion world – and of the youth.

Ageless fashion

The phenomenon is not limited to magazine covers or fashion campaigns. Even on the catwalks, these models are revolutionizing some standards. We saw it during the recent Paris Fashion Week parades with Charlotte Rampling and Marie Sophie Wilson on the AMI Paris catwalk, which also walked for Marine Serre.

However, it should be noted that models aged 50 and over remain largely in the minority on the catwalks, between 0.52% and 0.78% of all castings according to a report published by The Fashion Spot. A very small percentage, but which contributes to changing the appearance of women of the same age, be it fashion, beauty, work or any other field of activity.

Of course, these changes are only in their beginnings, but there is no doubt that the year 2023 will mark the end, if not the beginning of the end, of the invisibility of these women who are as dynamic as they are beautiful, charismatic and more. determined never to find a place in this system. And it’s not just about striking a pose in front of photographers or parading in front of in-the-know fashionistas, it’s also about taking action to move the movement forward. Caroline Ida Ours, a 62-year-old young model and self-employed entrepreneur whose second life just started when she was approaching her sixties, has already shown this, as has Brazilian model Helena Schargel, over 80 years old, who poses. in underwear for the creations she designs herself with one and only request: never to be retouched. In view of the proliferation of modeling agencies for more than 50 years, there is no doubt that this revolution has only just begun.

(ETX Daily Up) –