Last month saw the close of the Autumn/Winter 2024 catwalk season.
Eye-catching shows have taken place all over London, New York, Milan, and Paris, and whilst there wasn’t a single collection that didn’t deliver, the collections that brought us the presence of older models on their catwalk have my loyalty this season.
Seeing ladies my age and older, boss the catwalk inspired me. Not to be a model I should add – but to stand my ground in society.
It was fantastic to see top supermodels like 53 year old Naomi Campbell smashing boundaries. Dressed in a shimmer dress and combats she was the perfect example of age being no more than a number. As was top 90s supermodel, Kristen McMenamy who excited the runways with her airborne plaits at the age of 59. But seeing Dame Kristen Scott Thomas command her runway debut at age 63 with such poise, showing us how to be grey, older and look like a pro, whilst embracing something new – that was special. Though she wore her clothes beautifully, it was her cloak of self-acceptance that made her the star.
And that’s the point. The catwalk is predominantly about clothes. And magnificent they most definitely were, but by bringing our older ladies on to the platform and showcasing their personas, the catwalk became bigger than a wardrobe. It traded us a lifestyle. A lifestyle that cannot be robbed by age – for the older ladies, with their midlife bodies and greying hair, owned it with a presence equal to the younger models.
It seems that Dr. Qin Huilan, the 70-year-old Shanghai doctor who took her debut turn on the catwalk recognised this too. After departing the runway she shared a great message on Instagram, writing "I also want to encourage everyone who is confused at a certain point, never give up on your dreams! Before the age of 70, I only cared about my patients as a doctor. Who would have thought that at the age of 70, I would be standing here on the runway today?"
And watching Dr Qin, and all those other older ladies on the catwalk – how could we not be encouraged? I certainly was.
Their presence, like the first bloom of spring gave me hope for the future. And with that hope came questions; have I slowly been lowering my own aspirations; have I, through the years, been losing belief in myself? Am I allowing the choices I make for my future to be influenced by my accumulating age?
It was doubly encouraging that the older ladies stood side by side with the youth. The catwalk turned into a perfect example of how ladies of all ages can share space and welcome each other’s ambitions; rather than compete, the young and old were a complement.
Was it Miuccia Prada’s intention for the catwalk to be so thought provoking when she altruistically used her own success in fashion to empower all women with the inclusion of females of all ages on the catwalk? OK, I hear the cynicisms – it may have just been good marketing business. After all, it is no surprise to learn that midlife women are the ladies with the spending power – and that not all of us want to spend all our money on the kids.
But I believe her reasons were more than that. I believe she encouraged older ladies to be on the catwalk because we still matter, because we are still beautiful and well, because we should be there - no longer does midlife and thereafter render us to wallflowers.
Read more Hell of a Midlife articles.
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