Nana Wereko-Brobby, contributing editor, 24
Whilst cameras point to the juvenile stars of London Fashion Week, it’s nice to know that some people in the fashion world are focussing their lenses on some older beauties.
Lynn, 78. Photos taken by Ari Seth Cohen for Vogue Japan.
London Fashion Week is underway and the nation readies itself for a week where innovative designs, new body shapes and sharply defined features are all up for discussion. With this comes the expected, and mostly unoriginal, media backlash: models are too thin, too white, too young.
There is no question that this is an industry in which youth is a highly prized commodity. Kate Moss was discovered at the elfin age of 14 and was on the cover of The Face by 16. Gemma Ward was featured in Australian Fashion Week aged 15 and already a Vogue ‘It Girl‘ by 16.
But in the last decade, as model as celebrity (and vice versa) has continued to flourish, we have witnessed former models coming back into the spotlight in their 40s, 50s, and even 60s. Twiggy’s M&S adverts, Madonna’s 2010 D&G campaign and Jerry Hall’s continuing successful career (despite the pesky appearance of her 17 year old daughter on the scene) is testament to slowly changing attitudes about beauty and age.
That said, these are celebrities and their beauty is mostly being celebrated despite their age. The question is, where are the role models whose beauty is being recognised and captured on camera in their advanced years? We’re not talking about sentimental and patronising shots of older people with their ‘heads held high’ on a billboard for some government campaign. We’re talking full on glamour, beauty and enviable poise from a set of older models who, to cringingly coin a Tyra phrase, look ‘fierce’.
Enter the edgy contender in this photographic field, fashion blogger Ari Seth Cohen. A New York based photographer and writer, Cohen’s blog Advanced Style documents the beauty of striking older men and women. Continue reading
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