THE MISSING MIDDLE AGED
the ghost club ‘It’s kind of true, you do disappear off the planet if you are a middle aged women, but that has some advantages as well’. Says Diane Keaton. With the emergence of the new Autumn/Winter collections this month we look at a topic commonly ignored by the fashion industry and ask, is it up to younger generations to stand up for the iconic peers that have gone before them? How many middle aged models do you expect to see flaunting on the runways this season? In fact, how many do you see fronting high street campaigns? New reports from the Mail Online have found that 61 percent of middle aged women, in Britain, feel as though they have been ignored by major high street retailers. It has to be said, it is quite difficult to think of a popular brand that consistently churns out clothing deemed appropriate for societies in-between market. Nobody wants to say that they are ‘middle aged’, or admit that styles which once flattered them in their 20’s no longer have the same, head-turning impact, or at least not for the right reasons. It is hard to imagine that any woman would want to be seen shopping somewhere that brands itself as an Aladdin’s Cave for the middle aged. Former model, Tricia Lloyd, 62, says ‘I’d like to see more brands in the same venue that covers all basis, like department stores, so that older women don’t feel uncomfortable’ she adds ‘I don’t want to be put into a category’. The transparent image of over 35’s makes little, if no, sense. This category are amongst one of the largest groups of consumers in Britain; particularly within the sectors of beauty and fashion. Why would large retailers purposefully miss out a market with buying potential like this? Maybe the whole ‘sex sells’ ideology is too strongly imprinted in the brains of marketing masterminds behind big brands. As ‘sexiness’ is often only associated with youth, it’s easy to see how companies could get caught up in only focusing on stereotypically, sex obsessed, youth culture. Santosh Desai, CEO of Future Brands, says ‘there is a huge amount of marketing bias to people who are 35 plus’. Although this does not appear to be a consistent theme among all aspects of women’s products. He adds ‘It is the opposite for beauty and cosmetics. This segment is extremely well catered to’. The anti-ageing cosmetic market is set to be worth $191.7 billion by 2019, so it makes sense to question if this could be linked to women’s age-fearing attitudes. Surely unequal media and fashion representation cannot be positive for women’s perceptions of their own age, leading to frantic purchases of the latest age defying products, promising to prevent turning into a non-existent, middle aged, entity. Some companies have begun to realise that women over 30 want to see what their clothes will actually look like on their bodies. Jason Wu featured middle aged model, Malgosia Bela, in his latest Fall campaign. Prior to this he has also chosen Christy Turlington, 46 and Stephanie Seymour, 47, to face previous campaigns. But will this theme continue into his next Autumn/Winter collection or is this simply a trend to prevent criticism of age bias? Fashion enthusiast, Heather Butterfield, 56, shops mainly on the high street, she agrees that some companies are realising this better than others ‘I usually shop at places like Mango, Marks & Spencer’s and Next’ she adds ‘But it’s about the experience overall, not just the clothes, that make me feel welcome and comfortable’. Models over 30, especially famous models, are able to ‘sell down’ to younger people as well as ‘sell up’ to women of the same age and even older. This could be because models past the age of 30 can start to look aspirational in both a sophisticated and wise manor. Claudia Schiffer for example appeared on the cover of Spanish Vogue at age 41, Kate Moss is still very much relevant and in her 40’s. Although not all models are as lucky as this.
Fashion acknowledges that middle aged women are attractive by using models such as these, why then isn’t this being reflected in high street store options? Possibly the industry is happy to acknowledge that airbrushed, botoxed, dieted women are sexy, but not the real, middle aged women, who don’t have the privileges of personal trainers, dieticians and surgeons. Actress, Charlotte Rampling who has featured in many beauty campaigns says ‘sexiness is a juicy sparkle, unrelated to your age’. Although it is common for women over 30, in fashion and the media, to partake in regular maintenance of their appearance, sometimes to extreme limits; this sadly leads to the same inescapable pressures they were subjected to throughout their adolescent years, twenties and that has followed them into their mid age. It would seem that fashion is stuck in a bit of a rut. It might only take one brand to make a spectacularly bold statement on the catwalk and change the way that age is perceived in fashion, but who will take this leap? While middle aged women currently don’t seem to have much of a voice in the industry, it is now down to the younger generations that fashion values to speak on their behalf. If the youth show a willingness for change and wanting for older generations to be accepted, could we become cooler, the older we get?
“It’s about the experience overall, not just the clothes, that make me feel welcome and comfortable”
“ Sexiness is a juicy
sparkle unrelated to your age -Charlotte Rampling
�