For the new fashion icons, age isn’t just a number

Youth may be wasted on the young but there may never a better time to be a woman of certain vintage. The last couple of years have seen a rising prominence of older — by that we mean at least 60 years old and above — celebrities and fashion personalities making their presence felt.

Fashion observers would have noticed how these older women have been increasing taking centre stage ever since street style blog Advanced Style began documenting the sartorial get-up of older men and women in 2008.

In 2012, Lanvin put 82-year-old former dancer Jacquie Tajah Murdock as one its campaign models. New Zealander fashion designer Karen Walker used Advanced Style regulars, Linda Rodin, Lynn Dell, Ilona Royce Smithkin and Joyce Carpati, (then aged between 65 and 92) in her 2013 summer campaign. In 2014, The Row featured Rodin while Dolce & Gabbana unveiled Italian grannies for its spring/summer campaign ahead.

But it was 2015 that things reached a tipping point when French fashion house Celine broke the Internet in January with the now-iconic photo of 80-year-old literary legend Joan Didion in its sunglasses. It proved to be the start of pop culture’s love affair with elderly ladies.

The documentary Iris, centering on “geriatric starlet” Iris Apfel, was released in April; Netflix’s Grace And Frankie, starring 78-year-old Jane Fonda and 76-year-old Lily Tomlin, aired to mostly positive reviews in May; music legends Cher (aged 69) and Joni Mitchell (71) appeared in ad campaigns for Marc Jacobs and Saint Laurent respectively.

Instagram sensation, 87-year-old granny Baddiewinkle, became an even bigger deal after Miley Cyrus brought her to the MTV Video Music Awards in August; while even younger designers like rising Brit designer Charlotte Beecham showed a trio of grannies gone wild for her Autumn/Winter campaign in a spoof of rap videos. And, who could forget the hair trend of 2015 was #grannyhair as celebrities from Rihanna to Kylie Jenner dyed their locks grey.

THE POWER OF AGE

Fashion obsession with the above-60 set makes complete sense if you take commercial interests into consideration. A report by media mag AdWeek points to the purchasing power of baby boomers, and research from consultancy A.T. Kearney revealed that people over 60 form the fastest growing consumer segment in the world. By 2050, the number of those 60 and older is expected to hit two billion.

“It’s where the money is,” said Tang Wai Wah, a lecturer focusing on fashion and design at Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s School of Interdisciplinary Studies. “Older women now have the cash and time to look after themselves and look good.”

Fashion stylist and designer Keith Png concurred. “Fashion brands are aware that the golden girls have buying power. This demographic has been neglected for the longest time — it is a wise move to reach out to them,” 
he said.

The good thing is, this embracing of grannies doesn’t look to be shortlived or superficial one either. “The whole idea of ‘growing old’ is being redefined,” said Sharon Lim editor-in-chief of women’s fashion magazine Elle Singapore.

“Fashion is also increasingly youthful, rather than young — with a focus on individuality today, rather than dictating the look of the season you must wear. Lim elaborated that the democracy of social media and rise of street style has given rise to a lot more diversity in how we see style.

She added: “Your age and size are as relevant as your fashion point 
of view.”

Tang posited that this trend could only grow stronger. “I’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” enthused the 65-year-old grandmother. “Women of my generation didn’t have the exposure and access to fashion compared to this generation’s more empowered, educated, and style-conscious professional working women and mums. These women are not going to pay as much attention to a fashion label with teenagers for models, and they won’t think of themselves dressing like a typical old-fashioned granny in baggy clothes with muted colours. They want to be inspired to age stylishly and gracefully.”

Big fashion labels seem to understand this. Kate Spade released its latest campaign this week featuring the 94-year-old Apfel again (she was seen last year alongside Karlie Kloss for the brand) and included 55-year-old artist and actress Anh Duong in the mix. Similarly, designer Marc Jacobs continued to celebrate his “heroes” in this latest campaign with 70-year-old Bette Midler.

WHAT ABOUT SINGAPORE?

It seems like this is having a trickle-down effect in Singapore. Homegrown shoe label Charles & Keith featured a silver-haired subject in sunglasses in one of its images for the 2016 spring summer campaign released last month. Tang applauded the effort by the Singaporean brand but wished the image could have injected a little more colour to show that older ladies can be bolder in their dressing. Both Charles & Keith and the stylist for this campaign Jeremy Tan declined to be interviewed for this story.

So does this mean it won’t be long before Singapore’s own Baddiewinkle emerges? Not so fast.

While high society in Singapore has its share of distinguished stylish ladies such as Celeste Basapa and eye surgeon and conservationist Dr Geh Min, one is hard pressed to think of female Singaporean celebrities in the mould of the dapper 61-year-old Zhu Houren (who appeared for a fashion spread in men’s fashion mag Esquire Singapore last August). This stands in contrast to Hong Kong, where actresses such as Liza Wang, 68, and Angie Chiu, 61 (she of The Bund fame), and Michelle Yim, 60, continue to dazzle in the style stakes.

Granted, we’re still a young nation, and fashion was probably the last thing on the minds of the pioneering and baby boomer generation. 
But there may also be structural obstacles for Singaporean grannies wanting to be more stylish. The retail scene, for one, remains conservative. “Fashion retailers need to start offering better and more reasonably priced items for older folks. It’s especially hard for older women to find nice clothes which fit well,” said Tang.

“We’re not talking about clothes for special occasions, it’s about everyday style. If our designers and retailers can do that, we’ll definitely see more older ladies here interested in dresing better because their needs are being recognised. Currently the clothes for us are usually limited and frankly, quite sad-looking,” added Tang, who either sews her own outfits or dresses in Singaporean label Anne Kelly.

Social norms could be another issue in pragmatic Singapore even with an ageing population. “Ageing and looking good were perhaps not as much of an issue as the practicalities of life. In fact, I remember my older relatives frowning upon vanity in older women — ‘lau hiau’ (which translates to old vainpox) was the Hokkien phrase used,” said Lim, adding that such mindsets are changing though. “Time will tell.”

Perhaps all older ladies need some encouragement from the younger generation. Png, who photographs his 67-year-old mother looking fabulous and shares her photos on his social media, revealed his mother enjoys it.

“My mum loves to be dolled up and look pretty. Who doesn’t like looking good?” he said.

Of course. After all, one is never too old for that.