This is a continuation, with relevant extracts of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) which published an article titled "They’re Cover Girls. They’re in Their 70s" written by Rory Satran. As indicated in my previous blog I find this article to be very supportive and positive in support of women (and men) who have gone over the age of 40 and aged like fine wine.
It would appear brands are finally warming to the idea that women of all ages want to see themselves in advertising. Beauty giant L’Oréal‘s current spokespeople include Helen Mirren, 77, Jane Fonda, 85, and Viola Davis, 57. Maye Musk, “nepo-mommy” of titan Elon, became CoverGirl’s oldest cover girl in 2017 at age 69. (Yes, the industry-wide model jargon of “girl” extends even to women of grandmother age.) Luxury brand Celine famously cast the late silver-haired writer Joan Didion in its ads in 2015. Saint Laurent has more recently featured Betty Catroux, 78, and Joni Mitchell, 79. Models over 50 now regularly walk runway shows including Valentino, Simone Rocha, Balenciaga, Rachel Comey, and more.
Even on the men’s side, Prada has recently employed silver foxes Jeff Goldblum, 70, and Vincent Cassel, 56.
Some of the older models in the spotlight at the moment, stars with extraordinary longevity like Pat Cleveland and Jerry Hall, came up as young models in the 1960s and ’70s, respectively. Bethann Hardison, 80, one of the first Black supermodels who began working in the 1960s, is the subject of “Invisible Beauty,” a documentary premiering at Sundance this month. Ms. Hardison appeared in Victoria’s Secret campaign in October 2022.
Georgia Makely-Schraeder, the global director of digital and media at Ford Models, said that her agency had done open casting calls for older models to meet demand in recent years. Briefs from brands that once sought only young, thin, predictable models have increasingly opened up, she said: “We’ve seen more inclusion in breakdowns from clients, requesting specifically more mature models or even a lack of an age range, which was new for some of the agents here.”
Jocelyne Beaudoin, a prop stylist in New York, started modeling later in life. Now 64, Ms. Beaudoin signed with her agent at 60 and has since worked steadily, juggling her day job and the more lucrative modeling gigs. Her first job was walking in a Rachel Comey show, and she’s modeled jeans (Madewell), hair products (Virtue), makeup (Bare Minerals) and antiques (1stdibs).
Ms. Beaudoin said she’s often the only person on set in her age group. “For the other models, I’m an exception,” she said. “So they all sort of flock to me. They all want to know what my secrets are, how do I do it, and how long I’ve been doing it.”
“If you’re a younger model, in a certain way you’re not as impactful because it’s an expected situation. But for me, it makes women my age feel good about themselves,” she said, “and that’s very rewarding.”
And one final, but very meaningful quote, from the article “You are not the perfect person. You are simply an example of what everyone could aspire to.”
Thanks for reading. Please be in touch to learn more about my work and to book a portrait or personal branding session with me.
0 Comments