Silver Foxes
Written by Galia Myron Wednesday, 09 February 2011 10:57
Current fashion celebrates Boomers and beyond.
From Oprah’s recent supermodel summit featuring Boomer beauties Cheryl Tiegs, Beverly Johnson, Christie Brinkley, and others to mod icon Veruschka’s turn on the runway at London Fashion Week, it seems as if the fashion industry is broadening its age range from its famously fickle focus on twentysomethings to include mature models. Is this just another fashionable fad?
Today’s consumers are eager to wear great clothes, no matter what their age, says designer Ming Wang of Ming Wang Knits, whose core customers tend to be women in their fifties.
“When I began designing clothes back in 1986, it was important to me to design classic, well-made, timeless garments that I myself would want to wear every day,” Wang says.
Age is “just a number,” maintains the designer, adding that when creating seasonal collections she focuses on quality and fit rather than on a particular demographic, although the line does have a loyal fan base in Boomers.
“The fifty-plus customer took notice of the brand from the beginning and quickly became our core audience,” Wang says.
The reason, she contends, is lifestyle, as fiftysomethings want fashions that flatter while offering convenience amidst busy schedules.
Just as Wang notes that her fashion line has always held appeal for the mature woman, former retail reporter and author Laurel Tielis argues that while fashion has not expanded its range, the current trends follow Boomer tastes.
“There’s a trend for the styles that Boomers and others grew up with, and those who always dressed in classic or conservative looks are currently fashion-forward,” she explains. “Thanks to shows like Mad Men, retro has become the rage. So there are a lot of younger people gravitating to hats, gloves, pencil skirts, and fitted dresses that some older adults have always embraced.”
Moreover, Tielis notes, money is a factor.
”Just as Louis Sullivan said ‘form follows function’ in architecture, its important to remember that fashion follows finance,” she says. “And ‘matures,’—those ‘40 and better’ as the age group (my age group) is now described, have the power of the purse.”
Economics play a very strong role in the fashion business, agrees Judy Woodward Bates, a Boomer also known as The Bargainomics Lady. “Who has the money? We do: Boomers and up,” she says. “Why cater to those who can barely afford to tack another twenty dollars on their credit card when you can attract the business of those who can afford to spend much more freely?”
Designers who woo older adults, Tielis adds, are just going where the money and power lie.
Boomer designer and founder of Sympatico Clothing Rose Gerstner says her motivation for the line came from the conviction that mature women are underserved by the fashion world.
“My inspiration grew out of the aesthetics and desires of Boomer women like myself: we seek fashion that's easy to wear, draws on classic lines, and is produced in a sustainable, eco-friendly way,” she maintains.
Like Wang, Gerstner says that lifestyle is key to how and why she creates clothes the way she does.
“My customers are active women who want designs that skirt the line between casual and career wear while addressing their green convictions,” she explains, adding that her use of a hemp/Tencel blend has a similar drape and feel as rayon, but is more environmentally-friendly.
“Unlike a lot of the hemp clothing that targets Gen X and Y shoppers, I design for Boomers just like me,” Gerstner notes. “The feedback I get from customers confirms that this is a greatly underserved demographic—women who object to becoming culturally invisible once they hit forty.”
Stephen Reily, author of Vibrant Nation: What Boomer Women 50+ Know, Think, Do and Buy says that Boomer women want to be reflected in fashion media.
"Retailers who appreciate the buying power of the 50-plus woman also are starting to understand what our research shows: nothing influences her purchase decision more than other women like her. She wants to see models who not only look 50-plus, but models who actually know what it’s like to be fifty."
Models who are fifty and older may connect with the target audience more readily than younger ones, because at the very least, the pieces will be more likely to be age-appropriate.
“Show me a fashion that flatters someone my age and I'll buy it—in my case, once it goes on sale!” Bates adds.
This “cultural invisibility” Boomers and Matures have suffered in the fashion world may be waning, if current styles and trends are any indication, says designer, stylist, and wardrobe consultant Wemi Opakunle.
Opakunle says that current fashions work for several cohorts—these are “styles that look just as chic on a 55-year-old as they do on a 25-year-old.”
“We're in a period of understated elegance and very clean looks,” Opakunle says. “The fashion industry was buzzing with excitement when the runways this past fall exploded with simplicity. Fashion Houses like Celine featured clean and structured looks that could be shared between daughters, mothers and grandmothers.”
Like Tielis, Opakunle notes the styles that are in right now are truly always fashionable.
“We always hear how important a classic style is in fashion, this sentiment has never rung more true and has been fully embraced this season,” Opakunle adds. “From a pencil skirt to crisp, long trousers—these are pieces that never get old, they're essentially ageless.”
Presentation specialist Constance Dunn, author of Practical Glamour, has “happily, gleefully” noticed the trend towards mature models.
”Many key influencers in fashion, style and beauty happen to be Boomers or Matures,” she argues. “Conversely, few in younger generations [such as] Millennials and Gen X have been particularly earth-shaking or innovative in these areas. Spotted any Donna Karans or Betsey Johnsons in these cohorts?”
With key fashion figures getting older, there is a shift in perception of age, she adds.
“The idea of ‘old’ is changing, and rapidly,” Dunn says. “Many women in their fifties and beyond look and project anything but a matronly vibe. In this area, perception has become reality. Gwen Stefani and Jennifer Aniston are in their forties!”
Washington DC resident Stacey Acevero has observed what she calls an “influx of mature fashion influences” and cites TARI, a local high-end consignment shop’s success in selling vintage fashion to the younger demographic.
“The clothing is mostly vintage but in amazing condition and often demographics in the ages between 18 and 30 come in and buy this vintage fashion,” she says. “The shop has only been open three months and already has had one thousand customers and tons of goods provided from the mature crowd.”
When twentysomethings embrace timeless fashions, it proves that some looks easily move between generations and carry on into every decade.
“Ultimately, in spite of the fleeting trends, we always come back to the classics and the classics do not discriminate,” Opakunle concludes. “No matter how old you are, you have a right to look fabulous.”
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