Long accused of only celebrating one form of beauty on the catwalks, Fashion Week slowly seems ready to change the rules.
And if in the countryside, women over 50 finally have their place and all their legitimacy, on the podium side, the change is slower.
Of course, there was the coronation of supermodels returning to the catwalk for different brands including Versace.
And every now and then, we see a white-haired model appear among an army of youthful faces.
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But in New York, on February 13, a fashion show chose to only select women over 40 for its casting.
No adolescent features... For the Batsheva label, models celebrate beauty in the prime of life.
Fashion show - Batsheva - Ready to wear Fall-Winter 24-25
In images, in pictures
See the slideshow72 photos
See the slideshow72 photos
Heavily made-up or on the contrary, in a sublimated no-make-up spirit, the models remind us that regardless of age, everyone can celebrate beauty in their own way.
Vincent Oquendo, the make-up artist who worked backstage, insists on his Instagram account: he wanted everyone to feel “like a star walking on the red carpet”, wishing to reveal the best of themselves.
As for hair: some have let their silver hair fully flourish while others embrace their roots.
Still others prefer coloring.
No conformism.
“In fashion, growing old means banishing, but in real life, growing old is amazing,” explains the brand's founder, Batsheva Hay, in an Instagram post.
The latter chose to only select women she spotted in the street.
Like Ming Smith, encountered in the subway while she was going to dance, as she says in another post.
Moreover, the designer explains, in an interview with the
New York Times
, that everyone was surprised and surprised to be asked.
“There is a feeling of invisibility or not being seen.
So when people notice you, it’s really surprising.”
If wild or street casting is nothing new, doing it with older women is more unexpected.
The
New York Times
thus questioned the designer on this bias of defining 40 as a minimum age?
“Because I am 42 years old [...] I find that aging is a big concern for me and my friends.
It’s a zone of discomfort in fashion.”
The newspaper also met several of the models backstage, collecting their impressions of being on a catwalk at this time in their lives.
“I want to see more [senior models].
I want to see them in their underwear,” explains Birgitt Doss, 67, whose underwear appears under the dress she wore for the fashion show.
"I adore !
I feel freer today.
At 25, I would have said no.”
In several videos on Instagram, we also discover that the show shakes up other codes: smiles and dances are there, as if to let each person's personality express itself.
Barsheva Hay's ultimate goal?
“I don’t want anyone to feel like they’re trying to look younger.”
Mission accomplished obviously.
Fashion show - Batsheva - Ready to wear Fall-Winter 24-25
In images, in pictures
See the slideshow36 photos
See the slideshow36 photos