202 LIVE FAST, DIE OLD. TIME FLIES WHEN YOU’RE HAVING FUN. BUT WHILE FASHION IS BUSY HAILING WOMEN OVER 50, IS AGEISM STILL POP CULTURE’S FINAL FRONTIER? THE NEWEST REVOLUTION COULD BE OLDER THAN YOU THINK.
203 behind them, when Madonna, who revolutionised gender roles in popular culture, fronted post-70s feminism, and challenged the taboo of sex in the public forum, is being dismissed as ‘try-hard’ and ‘desperate to be young’? (I won’t give page time to the actual headlines, but it only takes a brief look at the internet to find them.) I debated Madonna endlessly with people this year, and the general public opinion shocked me. It echoed the words of comedienne Cecily Strong, who, in her roast of him during the Correspondents’ Dinner in April, jokingly told President Obama: “You’re a lot like Madonna. You’ve both given this country so much, but in, like, a year and a half, you gotta stop.” It was funny, but the sentiment was kind of dark. It’s the popular notion that people’s old age somehow pollutes their legacy, and that your age prohibits you from doing - or wearing or saying – certain things. Why wouldn’t we want great musical talent to keep producing and performing for as long as they’re alive, the way we expect- for instance- designers to? For Madonna, the answer sadly lies in the gender discrimination she’s spent her career battling. When she appears in a Versace campaign, she’s promoting Versace. When she appears on a red carpet, dressed in one of those daring outfits she’s always worn, she’s promoting herself. And that, apparently, makes her ‘desperate’. “You should always dress or behave in a way, which is appropriate to your personal lifestyle,” Sir Paul Smith (69) says when I ask him about Madonna. “I hate the idea of dressing ‘young’ because you think it makes you feel better, but it’s basically her own personal ways of marketing. If Louise Bourgeois were naked you probably wouldn’t say anything because she’s an artist, whereas Madonna has always been so self-promotional you think it’s inappropriate,” he argues. “But if you look at Iggy Pop, he’s still got a bare torso. So much of it is subjective.” Transfer that theory to one of pop culture’s most vilified women, Kris Jenner (59) and it rings even truer. While the Kardashian matriarch is also criticised for dressing too young, the ageism targeted at her seems to primarily concern itself with her youthful outlook: her frivolous conversations with her children, her young friends, and her so-called ‘toy boy’, Corey Gamble (34). “It’s not about being old, it’s about the spirit,” her friend, Balmain’s Olivier Rousteing (29) tells me. “Kris, you can talk to her about pop culture, young people,
TEXT ANDERS CHRISTIAN MADSEN
old singers. She’s really open-minded, she’s always keeping her eyes on the new world, and she’s not a follower. She knows who’s going to be cool and who’s not, and that’s a matter of age, but she keeps young because she’s surrounded by young people.” When, in an episode of her TV show, Kim Kardashian told Jenner she was too old to join a pole dancing class, Jenner retorted, “What am I supposed to do, sit at home and knit?” For those who think women such as Jenner and Madonna should be acting more ‘their age’, it’s
“Old is the new young.” It’s been a favoured headline around the fashion media-scape this year, and like most trend declarations something of an empty promise. It’s not that the
a good question, really. Should Madonna shelve her raunchy dance tracks and take to sitting on a bar stool singing ballad medleys, fur-clad and bejewelled like some millennial
pro-ageing efforts of the fashion houses of the world haven’t been commendable: Joan Didion (80) for Céline, Joni Mitchell (71) for Saint Laurent, Sicilian grandmothers for Dolce
Marlene Dietrich? She already did that, 25 years ago.
& Gabbana, Iris Apfel (94) for Kate Spade, Cher (69) for Marc Jacobs, Donatella Versace (60) for Givenchy, and Madonna (57) for Versace. But despite the industry’s zeitgeist alerts,
In a post-feminist world closer to equality than ever, classic views and expectations of age are no longer realistic. Unless you’re a teenager, there is no such thing as acting or
outside of fashion this new age of old age seems to remain a mirage. In that real world, female-oriented ageism is alive and well, discreetly practised and rarely discussed. Russell
dressing your age, because society – much in the example of Kris Jenner – now gives us the privilege of spiritual agelessness. Youth, in other words, is no longer reserved for the
Crowe wasn’t entirely wrong when, earlier this year, he said that actresses over 40, who complain they can’t get roles, still want to “play the ingénue, and can’t understand why
young. Perhaps this is the reason society – still hopelessly obsessed with youth – gets down on those past 50, who refuse to swap their mini-skirts for a stretchy mum jean, like
she’s not being cast as the 21-year-old.” What he doesn’t understand is that few good parts are being written for women over 40. Similarly - excluding this year’s campaigns - it’s
some valiant age rights group giving youth back the young. But isn’t there enough youthfulness to go around? Surely, if the 20-somethings - so eager to be taken seriously - could
hard to find women of a certain age in most fashion magazines, and when they’re featured in the tabloid media it always seems to be about ‘looking good for their age’.
borrow some wisdom from the 50-somethings, they’d jump at the chance? Instead of writing off people like Madonna as desperate to be relevant, we should rejoice in the fact
It’s a youth-centric culture that teaches young people to fear age, disdain it, and worse, ridicule it. Indeed, we seem to be most comfortable with women over 50 when they’re
that her youthful disposition will keep her around for longer so she can keep inspiring generations to come. In ancient times, if you wanted to learn something new, you went
in one of those campaigns, styled in the context of a cool fashion brand like some theatrical character. And while the natural eccentricity that often comes with age should be
to the oldest person in the tribe - not the youngest. And perhaps that notion is part of the same fashion industry waves that put those 50-plus women in campaigns this year.
hailed like that, the tribute appears to stop there. Once older women go out there on their own terms, they risk crossing society’s elusive borderlines of what’s considered ‘age-
With social media exposing every inch of newness to the world on a daily basis, fashion - historically dependant on youth culture and underground scenes - could be struggling
appropriate’. Cases in point: the skimpy dressers of pop culture including Madonna, Mariah Carey, Sharon Stone, Kris Jenner, and Ivana Trump. ‘Age appropriate’ is a hate term
to actually identify emerging subcultures - if indeed they even exist anymore. And while we’re all desperately stalking the 20-year-olds, trying to uncover some elusive trend, the
of mine. Why? Because it belittles women older and wiser than the people who use it, as if they were teenage girls in sexually inappropriate hemlines and too much make-up. If
real newness is being created slowly and confidently by those over 40, who’ve been there and done that, and are liberated from the crowd-pleasing trend sheep mentality that
I were a woman, I would hate to make it to 50 only to be told I couldn’t wear whatever I felt good in. “Sexiness is about attitude and being able to be yourself without judgment
social media in many cases instils in young people today. Maybe people over 40 are the rebels of the 2010s: a counter-culture of a new world? According to Charlie Le Mindu (28),
from other people,” Luella Bartley (41) of Hillier Bartley tells me. “As you get older you start to understand yourself and your body and what makes you feel sexy. It’s just a shame
multi-artist and hairdresser-gone-couturier, that’s already the case. “On old ladies, fashion is important,” he says, referring to the real senior segment, much older than 50. “You
that it’s also the age when you get slapped down and told that ageing is ugly and lazy.”
know when you go to Knightsbridge and you see those old ladies? They don’t give a shit. They just wear everything, and they look like freaks again. They’re a big inspiration to
This year, Bartley founded the label Hillier Bartley alongside Katie Hillier (40), with the desire to create clothes for their own age group, i.e. clothes that women over forty want to
me. A young woman wearing the new cool stuff is not going to inspire me, because they all look the same.”
wear rather than what anyone thinks they should be wearing. “You should be able to wear anything at any age. It’s not so much putting rules on it, it’s that you change,” Bartley
The introduction of older women in fashion campaigns this year is a huge step towards to a less ageist social spirit, but it doesn’t cancel out the need for a revolution. Celebrating
says. Society’s criticism of middle-aged women in the spotlight isn’t just aimed at appearances, but an overriding view of how they’re meant to be behaving. A few months ago, I
middle-aged women in the spotlight shouldn’t be a passing trend like they’re some kind of showpiece pool sandal, ‘so wrong it’s right’. They should be celebrated alongside the
asked Marilyn Manson who he thought was relevant right now. “I’m kind of interested in this Madonna record,” he said, referring to her then-upcoming album, Rebel Heart. “I’d
young generation for whom they paved the way, forever relevant not just because of their icon status but because their talent, in tune with their minds, evolves into new levels
say that’s one record I’m looking forward to hearing when it comes to relevance. She looks hotter than ever. I still have a crush on Madonna and I would definitely fornicate with
of expression equally as relevant to pop culture as what they did in their youth. “Young rebellion is full of angst and energy, and older rebellion is a real kind of personal don’t-
her.” You could say it was one music industry ‘elder’ empathising with another, but knowing the astute mind of Manson - 46 and promoting his first critically acclaimed album in
give-a-shit-about-what’s-going-on,” Luella Bartley says. “You become so comfortable in your skin that you just do what you want. Younger rebellion just feels so much more self-
years – the loaded social importance of his statement went way beyond its sexual candy coating.
conscious. Older rebellion feels more real.” At 57, Madonna’s current age revolution might just be her greatest gift to future generations of women. And in the words of Marilyn
It struck a nerve with me, not least in the sad spring that followed where Madonna would be ridiculed by the media as a 50-something dinosaur, who falls off stages (Brit Awards),
Manson, she’ll look hotter than ever doing it.
forces young singers to snog her (Drake), and - God forbid - dresses all sexy like she’s in her twenties (always). Weeks after my conversation with Manson, Madonna put his quote on social media. She’d had some intense months, branding Radio 1 “ageist” after they refused to add her new single to their playlists. “The tracks are chosen on musical merit and their relevance to our young audience on a case-by-case basis,” the station said in a statement, adding that they were still playing artists such as Sir Paul McCartney (73 - and male), who had of course just released a single with Rihanna (27) and Kanye West (38). “We’ve made so many advances in other areas - civil rights, gay rights - but ageism is still an area that’s taboo,” Madonna commented. “No one seems to want her to succeed,” her producer Diplo (36) would later argue. “Her song Ghosttown was a guaranteed number one for anybody else, but she didn’t get a fair shot. It already sucks to be a woman in the music industry, but to be a boss woman is even harder.” “Strong women are always perceived as being bitches or egomaniacs,” Christopher Kane (32), one of fashion’s most pro-age designers, tells me. “If it was me, it would be like, ‘Oh he’s so strong and powerful. He’s a great guy.’ And when is that going to stop? You get better with age. You do. Old women can wear mini skirts. The world is not going to fall
“You get better with age. You do. Old women can wear mini skirts. The world is not going to fall apart.”
apart.” I can’t help but wonder why pop culture’s all-important stamp of relevance is exclusively given to young entertainers with no significant cultural or social achievements
CHRISTOPHER KANE
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