OLDER & BOLDER Our style icon of 2023?
The mature models who are taking back ownership of the catwalk and refusing to be pigeon-holed
This has been a tumultuous, dark year and there has been little light relief. However, small glimmers of hope have shone through despite the febrile atmosphere. One of these has been the prominence of the older style icon in 2023. This year has seen a growing visibility for older women in the world of fashion and beauty as both industries gradually acknowledged the spending power of the over-40s. Older faces appeared in global campaigns including Maggie Smith for Loewe, Vanessa Redgrave for Burberry and Linda Evangelista for Fendi.
Before the pandemic, there was a slow but steady increase in older faces being used across fashion and beauty, but lockdowns saw that trend curtailed. It has been a slow recalibration, but now the visibility of older models is rising again as normal life resumes. The year opened encouragingly with Oscars for two mature actors, Michelle Yeoh and Jamie Curtis, for Everything, Everywhere, All at Once. B
oth defied the norm to win statuettes aged over 60. Neither concealed their delight at bucking the trend with Yeoh declaring, ‘Ladies, don’t let anyone tell you that you are ever past your prime.’
Their success expressed a growing shift in popular culture that has for decades eulogised dewy youth over older allure. The experience, confidence and charisma projected by both was immensely appealing and inspiring. Unsurprisingly, Yeoh was named as a brand ambassador for La Mer skincare shortly after her win.
Here too there were signs that older glamazons were making a mark. Some of Ireland’s most stylish women are over 40, including boutique owners Nikki Creedon of Havana, Juliet Ledwidge of Juju,
Kate O’Dwyer and Louise Flanagan of Kalu, Clodagh Shorten of Samui and Deryn Mackay of Khan. Then we have the older influencers like Celia Holman Lee, Lisa McGowan (Lisa’s Lust List), Susie Lynch Barrett (aka Tired Always) and Irish Nigerian model Mouchette Bell, a former fashion editor who has pivoted from styling the pages of Italian Vogue to appearing in them.
Irish designer Cleo Prickett features her mum Sue in all her fashion campaigns. ‘I used her as my fit model when I developed my first collection and it progressed from there,’ she says. ‘She just has that natural style and way of carrying herself that looks cool for any age. From the start of running my own label I was always interested in using a more mature face for my campaigns, I find them interesting, and I love the slight fierceness of and older look, it’s powerful to me.
‘It just happened naturally with