Barneys Features Beautiful, Older Models In Its Latest Catalog
Images courtesy of Barneys New York
Around this time last year in London, the Fall 2014 shows had been going along swimmingly with seemingly few surprises. We were beginning to see the seasonal trends start to blossom—there were hints of robe coats, a flourish of sixties, and plenty of funky furs. None of it was out of the ordinary. But then fashion audiences were thrown for a loop.
Suddenly stepping out on the runway among the pretty young things was Kirsten Owen. The ’90s hall of famer both opened and closed the Mary Katrantzou show and suddenly weary editors took note, and not just because the star of the show was a 43 year-old woman. In fact, the clothes seemed to embody a new sophistication, a different type of elegance. It took a fashion veteran to jolt the audience out of their collective stupor. After weeks of young models awkwardly walking like foals, seeing Owen was not only refreshing, but also totally inspiring.
Six months later, Barneys has followed suit with their new spring catalog, portions of which were released today. It features 10 female models, Kiara Kabukuru, at 39, is the baby of the group while the eldest is Bethann Hardison, one of the first African-American models to walk a runway back in the early ‘70s. Bruce Weber, who is a frequent collaborator of the retailer, photographed the campaign. (Weber was also responsible for last year’s catalog which celebrated transgendered models).
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In addition to Kabakuru and Hardison, the catalogue includes Owen (yay!) ,Stephanie Seymour (46), Christie Brinkley (61), Brooke Shields (49), and Veronica Webb (49). In typical Weber fashion, the ladies are surrounded by an army of scantily clad beefcakes— who in turn fawn over them.
This homage to iconic, older women has been one of fashion’s biggest trends this spring. Elder stylish stateswomen like author Joan Didion and singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell starred in Céline and Saint Laurent ads respectively and fashion fan girls across the internet collectively swooned.
Even youth-worshipping Hollywood has started to pay attention to ladies of a certain age as Julianne Moore, Patricia Arquette, Viola Davis, Robin Wright, and Julianna Margulies all were nominated for Golden Globes. (Moore is expected to take home the Oscar for her role in Still Alice later this month. “No one wanted to make this movie because no one wanted to see a movie about a middle-aged woman,” says Moore at the ceremony. Thankfully how wrong she was.
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“These women have something completely different than everyone else,” says Piergiorgio Del Moro, a New York-based casting director who worked on last season’s Mary Katrantzou show as well the most recent Versace couture show that brought back Amber Valetta and Eva Herzigova. “They are not only women, they are women who have had amazing lives, they are comfortable in their own skin, and give something else to the camera. Today you have girls, and I love the girls, I am obsessed with new beauty. The women, though, can teach the girls.”
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