Women over 40 have stolen the show at Paris Fashion Week, with Fendi making “strong, powerful” women the focus of its Spring/Summer 2021 collection.
Actress Demi Moore shared the stage with '90s supermodels Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss.
Moore, 58, opened the show wearing an off-the-shoulder silk suit with a peplum hemline, walking the futuristic runway surrounded by glass walls. She noted on Instagram that she was "fulfilling a teenage dream" by taking part in the show.
Turlington, 52, was joined by her nephew, James Turlington, an ex-semi pro baseball player turned model.
She was followed by Moss, 47, and her daughter Lila, 18 - the first time the pair have walked a catwalk together. Naomi Campbell, 50, rounded out the show as the fierce finale model, striding down the runway in a marble-printed gown and long-trained cape fit for a queen.
Actress Laverne Cox summed it up in a comment on Instagram: "Still iconic! Still shutting it DOWN! Still the baddest to ever walk a runway! Still Naomi!"
After their runway appearance, the models posed in individual glass boxes, with attendees exploring the space while wearing protective face coverings, due to COVID-19 regulations. Kate and Lila were able to pose together because they live in the same household.
Melissa Singer, National Fashion Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, noted: "In casting so many ’90s-era supermodels in his show, Jones made a powerful statement about age diversity, something the industry, with some exceptions including Versace, has battled for decades."
Last year, in an article called "Shades of 50: how the midlife woman went from invisible to the main event, The Guardian reported: "A new, aspirational version of midlife is a powerful marketing tool to win a lucrative customer base of older women with money to spend on becoming the best versions of themselves – whatever that means. Long gone are the days when a cameo by an ex-supermodel was a novelty at fashion week: these days, the catwalks are packed with more lithe fortysomethings than a £25 north London yoga class.
"The sophisticated division of Wilhelmina Models in New York, a spokeswoman recently told the LA Times, is the company’s fastest growing area."
While there were concerns that the famous women featured in the Fendi show had undergone major plastic surgery, an after-show photograph Moore posted on Instagram, showing her backstage with Christy Turlington, Kate Moss and designer Kim Jones showed their catwalk looks were the result of make-up and lighting.
Moore was also careful to point out the group hug was COVID safe, writing: "A lot of testing went into this group hug."
The Paris presentation was a first for Jones, who has succeeded Karl Lagerfeld as the artistic director of Fendi. He drew inspiration from the Bloomsbury group to create his designs.
The Bloomsbury group was composed of British intellectuals and artists in the early 20th century such as feminist literary icon Virginia Woolf, painter Vanessa Bell, and novelist Vita Sackville-West.
“Fendi represents artisanal quality of the highest order, and it’s all about family,” said Jones in the show notes. “It’s in its third generation with a Fendi at its helm, and I am guest starring while bringing in the fourth. Here, I am surrounded by strong, powerful women who I love and respect, and want to bring their energy into what I do.”
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