ELLECANADA.COM 45
STYLE
B
EST. CASTING. EVER. That was the general re-
sponse showgoers had following the fall/winter
2019/2020 season. The posts on social media were
a surprisingly glowing response from a notoriously
tough crowd. The change? Age. Models of all ages
and statuses walked for major shows, making it a season
of increasingly inclusive casting. Ugbad Abdi (18) opened
for Marc Jacobs, while Christy Turlington (50) closed. At
Burberry, Stella Tennant (48) appeared alongside Anok Yai
(21). And we saw more models over the age of 60 than ever
before, including Christie Brinkley (65), Pat Cleveland (69)
and Patti Hansen (63). Which raises the question: Can you
really put an age on style?
Conversations about inclusivity and diversity in fashion have
been going on for a while. In fact, “our biases are cultural, not
industry-specific,” says Robin Givhan, fashion critic for The
Washing ton Post. The focus has primarily been on race, gender
and body type (which have the most visibility on the catwalk).
But as more older women occupy positions of power (Angela
Merkel in politics; Oprah Winfrey, Jane Fonda and Céline
Dion in entertainment), it seems that fashion is finally having
its coming-of-age moment.
This season saw a jump in models over the age of 50—they
were up by 33 percent from spring/summer 2019*, with
Balenciaga, Vivienne Westwood, Versace and more featuring all
ages on their catwalks. Simone Rocha included Chloë Sevigny
and ’80s and ’90s models Marie-Sophie Wilson-Carr and Jeny
Howorth, and the collection they modelled was inspired by artist
Louise Bourgeois—a woman who, Rocha says, “was beautiful at all
ages.” In Paris, five of Balenciaga’s 56 models were over the age h
IS
OF
?
FASH ION
AGE
COMING
By SARA MCALPINE
As older faces (and bodies) grace the runways,
ELLE asks: Has fashion changed or
is it simply having a new identity moment?