Pension? No thanks! How best ager models are conquering the fashion industry

Pension? No thanks!
How best ager models are conquering the fashion industry

Best Ager Models are currently more in demand than ever. Does the movement mark the beginning of a lasting change in the fashion world or is it perhaps just an entertaining marketing trend?

New fashion, even more spectacular settings than the year before and a front row that is as prominent as at many an award show. Anyone who looks at the catwalks in fashion metropolises such as New York, Paris, London and Milan season after season will always be surprised. But this year it’s the models who took center stage – and rather their age.

The problem of the lack of diversity in the Fashion industry is not new. Time and time again, the industry takes two steps forward and then one step back. For example, while you saw more and more plus-size models on the catwalks and magazine covers a few years ago, they are unfortunately becoming more difficult to find again. For many, diversity ultimately seems to be just a marketing move. But there seems to be a new movement. Will this stay?

Best Ager Models conquer the catwalks

The fashion houses traditionally determine the trends. But will the latest trend continue when it comes to the selection of models? Because more and more big labels are relying on models over 60 who are affectionately known as… “Best Ager Models” or even “Granny Models” be referred to. Anyone who followed Fashion Week in Copenhagen could see older models on the catwalk. But that’s not the end of it, the big players at the big fashion weeks are also increasingly relying on older women. For example, Balmain, Miu Miu and Helmut Lang are increasingly showing models with visible wrinkles and gray hair on the catwalk. It seems as if the desire for authentic women has finally been heard.

Professor McGonagall becomes a fashion icon

But it’s not just the catwalks that are currently being conquered by women over 60. In October, a photo of Maggie Smith, 89, known to many as “Professor McGonagall” from the fantasy series “Harry Potter”, for a true sensation on the Internet. The actress leans against a wall in a heavy fur coat and carries a leather bag. What initially looks like a new “Harry Potter” reunion to many turns out to be the French fashion house’s new campaign Loewe But that’s not all, music icon Diana Ross is also the new face of Yves Saint Laurent at 79 years old.

Desire for diversity or pure logic?

But what is behind this movement? In addition to a significant step towards diversity in the fashion industry, the choice also seems more than logical from a purely strategic perspective. If you look at the target groups and, above all, the price ranges of many brands, it is less young women in their 20s, but often older women who can afford the luxury. But will the fashion world finally be able to break away from its fascination with “very young and willowy”? Given the past, this remains to be seen.

Bridget