Why is maturity a new black
Masha Vorslav
A few hours ago Rick Owens showed in Paris: 20-year-old models and women over 40 and 50 came out on the catwalk. We explain why after this gesture we are sure that everyone will soon understand: maturity is the new black and age is no longer forbidden to talk theme.
One of the most painful topics for women (and for men, although less is being said about this) is age. It is not customary to talk about him, they are afraid of him, they are ashamed and often try to hide him. At the same time, it’s impossible to say that society ignores the topic at all; it’s impossible: for cosmetic companies, the anti-aging product line brings substantial income, which they don’t intend to abandon. But we must pay tribute, to represent anti-serum called women aged. True, their faces and bodies are subjected to such amount of retouching that L'Oréal Age Perfect Pro-Calcium cream is advertised not by 68-year-old Diane Keaton, but by 48-year-old.
Against this background, Nars and Marc Jacobs Beauty look even clearer: they chose Jessica Lang and Charlotte Rampling as their 60-year-olds. It is precisely decorative cosmetics that are always or almost always advertised on young and fresh ones: it is technically difficult to demonstrate shades or lipstick on mature faces of a company, and it is technically difficult to demonstrate to consumers who are accustomed to “soapy” skin and eyelashes up to the eyebrows. The unanimous Nars and MJB breaks the pattern, and the fact that you can look beautiful at any age, is perceived as an innovation - although this should not even be questioned.
Ari Seth Cohen spoke about this back in 2008. His blog, Advanced Style, about nicely dressed and beautiful mature New Yorkers three or four years ago, blew up themed sites and facebook. And now in the tape no, no and yes, I want to look like this in old age. Despite such a hyip, society’s attitude to age has not softened too much: firstly, one should not overestimate the scale of street-style audience’s audience, and secondly, a blog with such intonations is too tender for a phenomenon that can break this very pattern. But lookbooks and shows in this sense look much more influential: at one time, the Bernhard Willhelm lookbook with completely elderly models and the beautiful 62-year-old American Apparel model, which has been working with the brand for three years, made everyone talk about age in the context of beauty, and no fear of death.
The society does not like to think and reflex, only if the trigger is clumsy and violating the comfort zone - to put it under his nose. And it is better if it is done by one who is visible to everyone - or is visible at least to that part of society that is especially strict and utilitarian in its appearance and forms the concept of beauty in the rest. American Apparel, Wilhelm, Owens, Nars and Marc Jacobs Beauty did just that. Nobody has got used to seeing on the podium and in advertising non-thin and unmarried, but in the end it will become the norm.
the photo: American apparel