Girls
29-05-2017
Over the past few years, there has been a significant change in the attitudes of the world’s greatest fashion houses. Specifically, they are acknowledging that the ‘older’ woman also has a fantastic fashion sense and should be catered to. This started with Joan Didion, the 80-year-old who became the face of Celine. According to UK fashion retailer Bonmarche, one of the few who have always focused on the more mature woman, this signals a change in attitude towards age.
A Bonmarche spokesperson says: “After Celine, Saint Laurent Kate Spade, Alexis Bittar, L’Oreal, Marc Jacobs Beauty, Nars, Louis Vuitton, and Gap all followed suit. Finally, we are collectively celebrating the beauty and fashion sense of women of a certain age. We don’t like to say ‘older’ woman because 50 is the new 30, after all!”
Research has shown that the demographic of people over 60 are the fastest growing consumer group in the world. There were some 600 million people over the age of 60 worldwide, which became 800 million in 2010. By 2050, it is expected that two billion people will be 60 or older.
One thing is indisputable: age and buying power go hand in hand. Baby Boomers, for instance, control around 60% of all consumer spending and 80% of all financial assets. According to the Bonmarche spokesperson: “Retailers are starting to understand that older women have a tremendous influence as consumers and that they have huge spending power. We were the first to properly recognize how important this demographic is, and many others are now following suit.”
It also seems that the fact that the 2008 recession is now fully behind people has made a big difference. What this has done, in the main, is encourage older women to not mind spending more, so long as it is on high quality goods. This means that luxury brands in particular need to pay attention, as this is where the spending power is.
“Spending powder is not the only factor, however,” adds the Bonmarche spokesperson. “It is also about the fact that aging is now viewed in a different way. We are more focused on growing old gracefully, feeling comfortable in your own skin, and being happy and healthy. Women are ok to talk about their age and no longer focus on maintaining a lost sense of youth.”
There is some concern among retailers, however, that if fashion houses start to favor the older generation, they will alienate the younger ones. This is something that Bonmarche is not overly concerned about, since they have always targeted the older generation. Furthermore, it seems that those high fashion houses that have started to target women over 50 had not suffered financially at all.
According to the Bonmarche spokesperson: “When stores don’t have a niche market, like we do, then they simply have to focus on all demographics. The Celine campaign, for instance, was targeted at older women due to making Joan Didion its face, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t also have advertisements for a younger audience.”
She adds: “There are certain things that transcend age, one of which is style. This is why we are now seeing advertisements with models with a 30-year age gap, and they work. As women, we no longer believe that we have to ‘dress our age’ and get rid of the fun and cool clothing the second we hit 50.”
(Image above left: Bonmarche, top to bottom right: Joan Didion in the Celine ad campaign, Daphne Selfe on the cover of S Moda magazine and Jean Wood wearing Carole Waller by Will King.)
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