Are We Youthful At Any Age?

by | May 23, 2011 | Beauty, Fashion | 8 comments

Can only a sixteen year-old have a fresh face?
Can a forty year-old be considered youthful?
Does age really matter when selecting models for ad campaigns?

I thought about these questions when I read about the recent ad campaigns for Louis Vuitton and St. Johns.

Belinda White wrote an article for the May 20, 2011 edition of The Telegraph fashion section entitled “Out with the old, in with the new Louis Vuitton”. It is not talking about old handbags or shoes.  For its fall 2011 ad campaign, the handbag company is replacing its current models who range in age from 23 to 46 with younger models with an average age of 18. What is interesting is that Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss were in the Fall 2011 Louis Vuitton runway show and they are both over 30; but they look pretty fresh faced to me. The title of this article was unsettling to me because even if a woman is in her nineties they can youthfulness inside and out.

I do not have any problems with the way the Louis Vuitton ad campaign looks aesthetically. The advertisements are tastefully done. What bothers me is that Marc Jacobs, the creative director for Louis Vuitton, decided to use these models because he was looking for “fresh-faced young women.” Mr. Jacobs, I have a question for you. Can’t you be young and fresh face at  30, 40, or 50? The ad campaign could have included fresh faced models in various ages. As long as society continues to view age in this way; little girls, teenagers and women will continue to have insecurities about their age and the way they look. We will feel that after we reach a certain age that we are old? And that we can not do certain things that the younger girls can do, like starring in a Louis Vuitton ad. Well I disagree; because I have said this before and I will say it again. All women, of all ages and sizes, should be represented. We are the ones buying this merchandise, writing about it in our blogs, tweeting and re-tweeting the latest fashion trends and giving our opinions on what we think is haute.

One of the new faces in the Louis Vuitton ads is sixteen-year-old model, Nyasha Matohodze. Matohodze is a very beautiful young lady. But let’s think about it. How many sixteen year-olds do you know who own a Louis Vuitton handbag? Not many! I know that I have to save my money to purchase a jewel such as a Louis Vuitton handbag.

In The Telegraph article, it is noted that in the prior Louis Vuitton models were in their 20s, 30s and 40s. However, for this campaign the company decided to bring in fresh faces. I wonder how faces with a variety of ages could not be represented? I am always an advocate that everyone should count. When I look at an advertisement, it is nice to see some one that has a shape like me or some one I can relate to because it will focus a lot more on my buying decision or how an outfit will look on me or how I can carry a particular handbag.

The women over-thirty market is very strong. It would be to a designer’s advantage to include all the faces of a woman at different ages. I think that women appreciate it when designers take stock in what looks good on women at various different ages.

Being over 30 can be chic and young?

For example, Kate Winslet is the new face for St. Johns Knitwear. In the article, St. John’s New Woman, by Kate Iredale, Winslet shows off sophisticated and chic pieces from the St. John collection in a vintage theatre in New Jersey.

St. John Knits has a new face (Kate Winslet), a new look (fewer suits) and a plan to conquer a new customer (she’s not as young as you think). Photo By Jayme Thornton

Kate Winslet looked so beautiful and youthful in this photo shoot. She said in the article, “I’m obviously not a model. I’m not the size of a model. I don’t have the face of a model or the shape of a model.”

To me this is so real and brings it home to the consumer.  I can hear women saying wow she looks great and she looks like me.  There is a place for every age of a woman because we are forever young.

St. John has had ups and downs when finding the right fit with its customers.  The company tried evolve its line to be more trendy. The effort did not work, so the company changed back to its original plan. “When you’re a big, successful company, you have to be careful as you evolve,” says St. John Knits chief executive officer Glenn McMahon.”

St. John executives gave an interesting definition for “youth.” It is quite different then what one would think. According to Iredale’s article:

“But St. John 2.0 is not targeting women shopping the contemporary floor. “When I say young,” says Jim Gold, president of specialty retail for the Neiman Marcus Group (where the news of St. John’s younger-minded initiative has been met with great enthusiasm), “I don’t mean twentysomething or thirtysomething. I mean getting the fortysomething customer.”

You are as young as you feel and don’t let anyone define you any differently.

So what is fresh faced youthfulness to you?