Luxury fashion and younger consumers go hand in hand so there’s no debate as to why what we see seasonally is so often focused on the fantasy of eternal youth. Yet, it can be hard for audiences to imagine themselves aligned with the young model cabine and refreshing to see something on the contrary to the status quo. One of the hallmarks of women in their 50s, 60s and beyond is the power and ease that they have come into that is fully palpable on the runway. A handful of designers this season like Peter Do’s Helmut Lang and Batsheva, fully embraced this by exploring the concept of casting older women with a fully realized lineup of Hollywood actors, dancers, iconic models, and some of fashion’s unsung elite. At Helmut, Anita Bitton picked artist Anh Duong, Suzi De Givenchy (who just walked New York fashion week for the first time), Helmut muse Alex Burns, and opener, model icon, and another former Helmut muse, Kirsten Owen. New York’s Starrett-Lehigh building played host to opener Molly Ringwald, fresh off her swan song at FX’s Feud: Capote vs. The Swans, who sported a look that her character Joanne Carson could have rocked with her somber black velvet shift, hooded cape, with lace trimmed pumps and muff. Batsheva Hay wanted to see women like herself on the runway and that included names like Lori Belilove, founder of the Isadora Duncan Dance Foundation & Company, journalist Amy Fine Collins, photographer Ming Smith, and stylist Victoria Bartlett who rocked a knit sweater boldly emblazoned with HAG.
In Paris, a trio of Mugler muses joined the runway party with Farida Khelfa, Eva Herzigova, and Kristen McMenamy returning to Casey Cadwallader’s new age vision for the house. Balmain was focused on things that take time and aligned with age diversity to drive the point home. Dedicated to his childhood home of Bordeaux, Olivier Rousteing was set this season on highlighting how beauty has no age, enlisting Anita Bitton’s Establishment Casting to curate a line-up that opened with Bethany Nagy, who had earlier in the week took a spin at Saint Laurent. A wide age range of models were also casted like Axelle Doue, Sheila O’callaghan, Sylke Golding, Marie Seguy, and visual artist and Martin Margiela muse, Kristina De Coninck, who had a walk at Marine Serre a few days later.
After her recent American Vogue cover, designer Miuccia Prada seemed to want to make a statement that just because you’re older doesn’t mean you can’t be a Miu Miu girl. Usually associated with a more youthful spirit than sister brand Prada, casting director Ashley Brokaw brought in the usual exclusive newbies, a smattering of music and Hollywood’s most promising stars, and a handful of mature icons including Spanish actress Ángela Molina, British actress Dame Kristin Scott Thomas, model Stephanie Cavalli, and 70-year-old doctor and newly realized influencer, Dr. Qin Huilan. The Shanghai-based influencer was asked the week of the show to walk the show via Instagram-DM, which proves you should always check your messages.
