Image via HautePepper.com
As Fashion Week/month approaches, it will be interesting to see if the current enthusiasm for older brand campaign models stretches to the catwalk. I wouldn’t hold your breath. There are a few designers who use the odd gorgeous older model but it’s usually treated as something of a novelty.
Marpessa Hennink is a dutch model who is still working hard for the likes of Valentino and Dolce & Gabbana’s Alta Moda (couture), a brand we know takes it’s older women seriously. She returned to modelling recently -as she neared 50 -coming out of semi retirement from her home on Ibiza.
In this interview from Lisa Armstrong’s excellent Lessons from The Stylish, she claims ‘I’m very relaxed about growing up’ and seems surprisingly low-fi about her beauty and style regime, which I like. I think there’s a slight hint of this in both the low-key elegance of the two images here, with her bag undone (above) and a casual vibe to the D&G image below (btw, floral picture frame alert!). Yes she’s as thin as a pencil, but then she is a working model, so it’s to be expected.
Marpessa has this natural, low maintenance approach to ageing down pat and I like it. And I’m thinking I need a simple-but-beautiful dress teamed with a well fitted jacket for a bit of low-key elegance at some point soon.
image from Shrimptoncouture.com
I love, love, love the top photo – my favourite clothing combination. She is super thin, but she looks really good. Must go and read the interview; quite enjoy Lisa Armstrong’s writing. Times fashion coverage has been rubbish since she left.
Glad you like it Sue, I too love Lisa’s writing Ax
So jealous !
Dutch style doesn’t get the press it deserves.