Chani Ra Who What Wear UK editor in residence and is a London-based fashion commentator on her social channel The Fashion Nap, which broadcasts show reports, trend commentary and both current and archival industry analysis on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. As well as interviewing industry leaders and experts on her platform, she also frequently speaks as an expert on panels.
Over the past decade or so, it’s become completely uncool for women over 20 to stick to a religious botox and filler schedule, and that seems to be the newest normal change for celebrities approaching 30. But change is happening. As the clothes “come off” more and the fillers dissolve, expressive and unique faces are re-emerging in the public eye.
Susie Cave in Tom Ford’s spring/summer 2026 campaign.
(Image credit: Tom Ford)
Fashion brands are catching on to mature models. Case in point: Tom Ford recently dropped its sexiest campaign of the season, starring 59-year-old former model and The Vampire’s Wife co-founder Susie Cave. One video in particular caught my attention, especially when the camera pans over her face, so close that the beautiful lines around her pink-shadow eyes are visible. It was a precursor to a very sultry show, in which creative director Haider Ackermann created restraint and tension with models of all ages.
Meeting Who What Wear UK’s own editor-in-chief, Jane McFarland, who braved the crowd at the Paris store opening just as the spring collection arrived, is a reminder that Chanel’s customers are women of all ages. The new face of aspiration is rooted in reality, and young women want to buy from brands they can grow with. Women with real-life experience are our newly crowned It Girls. Even my afternoon TikTok doomscroll is currently filled with women who worked at Calvin Klein in the ’90s, emerging as the gatekeepers of “Caroline Bessette Kennedy chic.” The comment sections are filled with Gen Z viewers begging for ancient magic and saying “still You are looking great!”
Stephanie Cavalli, 49, opened the Chanel A/W 26 show.
Judging by this latest fashion month, London set the standard for age inclusivity. London-based Brazilian designer Caroline Vitto is known for catering to women of all sizes. This diversity also extends to age; Vitto doesn’t shy away from dressing a 40 year old woman like a 25 year old woman. “We dress the wicked!” Vitto shouted backstage. “It comes to any age and any size. It’s all about an attitude and presence that you feel when you wear clothes.” In fact, appearance is a far more interesting currency than youth, and it is very difficult to replicate.
Appearance is a far more interesting currency than youth and is far more difficult to replicate.
Showed a collection called Johanna Parv intimacy across distances For women who are living life actively and moving forward with purpose. The show depicts creative women traveling to different places in different ways, with clothes providing a uniform for streamlined, no-frills success. “Most of the models are too young for my liking,” commented Parv, whose show featured models of various ages.
(Image credit: LaunchMetrics: Matthire Feckels, Lueder)
It was up to the casting director to translate this taste to the runway. Lisa Dymph MegansWho has made it her mission to cast women who are actually selling brands, which means “sending 20 teenagers down the runway” is not an option. “Johanna Parva’s show proved that you can present something human and still be very ‘fashion,'” he told me. “As casting directors, you’re waiting for a brief that allows you to show what you want, because you still have to do what the designer wants, and this is an industry that is obsessed with youth. (It) finds it easier to control young women.”
Megans Raises a non-negotiable issue. Just one look at the so-called “elite” men in the news with anchors in every industry—including fashion—makes the pursuit of eternal youth feel all the more fraudulent. You have to ask: Whose standards are we meeting? Once you reflect on it, suddenly it feels like now is the time look get older.
In the spirit of rebellion, Luder’s runway was walked by London nightlife icon (and the only royal I’ll acknowledge this season), Princess Julia. Famous for reportedly going out every night since 1976, Princess Julia is a pillar of London’s gay community and a champion of emerging designers. Rose McGowan, 52, also walked for Luder in a rave-ready look, which included a bleached pixie cut, black glasses, a red silk bomber jacket, black tights, leg warmers and trainers. At the Matisse Fakels A/W 26 show, Debra Shaw (49), Michelle Lamy (82) and Daphne Guinness (58) were scene stealers.
(Image credit: LaunchMetrics)
The representation of women over 40 is especially meaningful in the trans community, where so many women are not given the opportunity to age in place. Dominic Jackson, 50, walked for Connor Ives this season, and Connie Fleming—whose modeling career began in the ’80s—recently appeared in MAC campaigns. I had the pleasure of interviewing Fleming in 2024, and we discussed how often, when you represent a marginalized community, there is no roadmap to follow. Allowing these women to stand up and inspire people to move forward in a world where we are seeing rights being taken away left and right is a testament to the impact of fashion.
Ultimately, the hope is that the industry will continue to trend upward as it ages, and is not some old fad, as we have unfortunately seen with body diversity, or the lack thereof. We can’t reduce our bodies or our life experiences to drive things for the trend cycle. As Diane von Furstenberg once said, “Don’t ask, ‘How old are you?’ Ask, ‘How many years did you live?'”
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