“People always ask how I look the way I do at my age. It’s a question of spirit. It’s not just a question of what I eat or what I put on my skin. It’s about how you think.” – Yazemeenah Rossi

I was going to write this post on Ageism and how the new wave of “inclusivity” and the return of the original Super Models to the runways is shaking up fashion, but it just didn’t flow. Yes, Rhianna’s Savage x Fenty NYFW 2018 show gathered a lot of attention for all the right reasons, and L’Oréal Paris have just announced 51-year-old singer Celine Dion as their new spokeswoman, it’s not the first-time brands have used someone considered more mature than the fashionable ideal for campaigns, I’m sure it won’t be the last. All the ladies featured in this post are sought after for editorials and brand campaigns.

Is there an element of ‘shock factor’ in these campaigns and editorials as they would stand out from their competitors? Possibly, but aren’t these women just beautiful in their own right and dare I say more aspirational than their younger counterparts. They have had more life experiences, understand themselves and their style, they are secure in who they are, and they are still living life! Why should fashion adhere to an arbitrary age limit after which we are put out to pasture?! Never mind the commercial consideration that these are the ladies who are more realistically able to afford the hefty price tags attached to designer fashion labels 😉

I want to meet these women and others like them, I want to photograph them and their stories, and I want to be like these women!