GRACE'S MUSINGS: Fierce, fearless model midlifers
On the catwalks of London and Paris in September, it wasn’t the twentysomething models making headlines, for a change, but the older, sassier – and infinitely more beautiful – women on the runway. Unsurprisingly, they bossed it – in particular, the redoubtable Prue Leith.
You’ll know her better as the 84-year-old host of The Great British Bake Off, where she’s no stranger to a bold print or a pair of quirky specs, but for the Vin + Omi show at London Fashion Week, she stormed the runway in a leather midi-dress with exaggerated shoulders, accessorised with long latex gloves.
The goal, said designer Vin, was to “sex her up” – so they added a smoky eye and a bold red lip. She looked sensational. She also created acres more coverage than a skinny 20-year-old wearing that look would have. But I think you’ll agree that she did it better.
“Since I’ve been doing Bake Off, there are thousands of women over 50 who are absolutely delighted that somebody so old wears bright colours and funky necklaces and mad glasses,” she said recently. But it’s not just that – it’s the killer attitude that does it for me, even though Leith is clearly prey to the same doubts and fears as many of us in midlife.
When putting herself forward for Bake Off, currently in its 15thseries, Leith has said, “I thought, ‘They’ll get someone younger.’ But no, they chose me.” Why the heck wouldn’t they?
Another of Vin + Omi’s muses is the incredible Debbie Harry – aka Blondie – who, at 79, is still in demand as a festival headliner, a bestselling author, and, this autumn, the star of Gucci’s latest ad campaign, photographed by Nan Goldin.
Harry was front and centre at the recent shows in Milan, and when questioned about her enduring appeal by The Telegraph last week, said something that really resonated with me. “How have I got so old? I guess I’ve been lucky.”
Ageing might be tough sometimes – but what’s the alternative? In 2010, Harry told an Australian reporter that roughly half the people she hung out with in the 1970s and early 1980s were dead. That’s what the rock’n’roll life will do to you. Instead, here is Harry, looking, quite frankly, hot, and living her life to the full.
What she and Leith so brilliantly demonstrate – as well as the ability to look fabulous on the runway – is the diversity that’s beginning to establish itself within the industry. One woman we have to thank for that is British casting director Anita Bitton and her agency, The Establishment, which conjured the line-up for Balmain’s autumn/winter 2024 show in Paris, featuring models well above the average age we’re used to seeing on the catwalk.
Bitton has worked with the greats, from designers Tom Ford and Marc Jacobs to photographers Peter Lindbergh and Irving Penn. And she knows that what she’s doing is more than just showcasing a collection: she’s enabling an audience (often of women in midlife) to connect with a brand and visualise themselves in its clothes.
As a casting expert, Bitton told Grazia recently, she assists creative directors in realising their vision. “We aim to inspire, intrigue and challenge the status quo,” she said. She’s aligning the models on the catwalk with brands’ high-spending customers – which seems like a no-brainer when you’re running a business. Why wouldn’t you represent the women you want to sell to?
“We wanted to blow it up without an ounce of tokenism regarding the age experience,” she said of Olivier Rousteing’s Balmain show. “I don’t believe age diversity is new to fashion, but we’ve been lacking the perfect execution. Olivier and his team were unshakable, and the results were evident.
“Great casting is bold, confident and creates a narrative.” And when the narrative is one of unshakable positivity in midlife, well, that’s a story we can all get behind.
