Style matters: Old is the new black

However, they are only the latest in a string of high-profile women over 50 used in advertising campaigns for industries often accused of ignoring them.

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Last year Kate Spade, H&M’s “young sister” brand & Other Stories and M.A.C cosmetics called on eccentric New York socialite Iris Apfel, 93, revered for sense of style love of  statement accessories, to front campaigns.

And let’s not forget supermodel Carmen Dell’Orefice who has fronted campaigns for Missoni, Rolex and Gaultier. Lauren Hutton, 70, has posed for Lucky Brand denim, Club Monaco and J Crew and appeared on the runway for Bottega Veneta. Catherine Deneuve has spruiked for Louis Vuitton, Anjelica Huston for the Gap, and American Apparel signed up silver-haired Jackie O’Shaughnessy as their lingerie model, then aged 62, back in 2011.

Age before beauty? Twiggy, Charlotte Rampling and Helen Mirren. Pictures: Pinterest

Meanwhile castings of Dame Helen Mirren and Jane Fonda for L’Oreal; Jessica Lange for Marc Jacobs; Charlotte Rampling for NARS; and Jacqueline Bisset for Avon, prove that cosmetic and beauty brands also believe style is indeed truly timeless.

This is fashion — and beauty — advertising re-positioning as it pivots to embrace the concept of old is the new black. But more importantly, it’s the tacit recognition of a new demographic of women — Generation FAB — who are independent, intelligent and happy just the way they are.

Francois Nars, the former make-up artist behind the NARS brand recently told the Financial Times that “I don’t put an age limit on beauty. I don’t care if they are 20 or 68.”

But increasingly companies do care and they are turning to older models to give their brands a more authentic feel suggesting they are ready to engage with the realities of their customer base. Particularly important because people over 60 is the fastest growing group of consumers in the world.

So are these new campaigns “just catching up” with the opportunities provided by the world’s ageing population? Are they finally realising the buying power of older customers? Is it really common sense or more a matter of dollars and cents?

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For decades, we have been exposed to images of lithe young things with their smooth unlined faces, pert breasts, legs up to their armpits and a derriere that defies gravity. Or it’s the unbelievably airbrushed images of age-defying celebrities. In other words, young and beautiful equals the fashion and beauty ideal. Unrealistic, yes. Smart, no.

Granted that while these images might be beautiful — aspirational even — they aren’t truly reflective of global trends.

Age is a only number: Style stars Linda Rodin, Lauren Hutton and Iris Apfel. Pictures: Pinterest

L’Oreal CEO Jean-Paul Agon told the Financial Times last year that he sees mature women as a “new and gigantic opportunity for our company”. So why this change of attitude?

A recent report by the Bank of America and reported in AdWeek stated that consumers worldwide aged over 50 spent more than $15 trillion in 2020.

Real women of a certain age don’t want to be reminded of what they once were. They want to celebrate who they are now and what they have achieved.

Thanks to improved health practices and advances in science and medicine, we are living healthier longer. The longer we live, the more we’ll continue to spend. And according to a report in the Telegraph.co.uk, 47 per cent of the adult female population in Britain is over 50. By 202o that’s expected to increase by 20 per cent to 13.4 million. And the 50 pluses account for 80 per cent of the UK’s wealth.

This new cashed-up “silver economy” has a higher net worth in comparison to the shrinking spending power of the employment-challenged younger generations. They are a tremendously powerful demographic that can no longer be overlooked or ignored by ad agencies who are recognising that old is the new black.

Real women of a certain age don’t want to be reminded of what they once were. They want to celebrate who they are now and what they have achieved.

“We have to be able to grow up,” Lauren Hutton says. “Our wrinkles are our medals of the passage of life. They are what we have been through and who we want to be.”